


Drowned

by Lin_ifyouplease



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Brother Feels, F/M, Greek Mythology - Freeform, Nymphs & Dryads, Relationship(s), Twins, Unrequited Love, Villains, Waterbending & Waterbenders, sister feels
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-19
Updated: 2017-01-08
Packaged: 2018-08-09 18:18:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 23
Words: 54,431
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7812223
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lin_ifyouplease/pseuds/Lin_ifyouplease
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Nogitsune is gone and we all survived. Well... not all of us. Allison's dead. So is Aiden. Ethan, Isaac, and Argent have all disappeared and gone their separate ways. The good news is, Malia and Kira aren't going anywhere. Now we fast forward a month or two and things couldn't be more peaceful. Scott and Stiles are out teaching Malia how to be a good werecoyote when they happen upon something mysterious coming out of the water, something that will change both of their lives forever. The McCall family, and all of Scott's pack, are about to face a harsh reality when someone from Agent McCall's past comes to Beacon Hills.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Lady of the Lake

**Author's Note:**

> So this is a little something I whipped up about two years ago on FF.net. If you know anything about my experience thus far, both on here and on FF, you'd know that I'm having a much better time here than ever before because of the never-ending support all of my readers give me. I decided to share my work on this wonderful series on here. I will be posting both books (and the rest of book three!), but I'm editing the story a bit, firstly because I could have done MUCH better with it, and secondly because I wrote it during Season 3B and a lot of things changed that season (i.e. Allison's death, Isaac's exit, Aiden's death, and so on) so I'm also trying to stay true to that. I hope you enjoy "Drowned" the first book of the The Naiad Chronicles!

Legend tells of a woman whose skin is as smooth as the softest seashell, whose eyes are bluer than the clearest ocean. Her hair falls like the gentle waterfall from a babbling brooke. She swims in bodies of water as though it runs through her very veins. She enchants, befriends, and delights those in her presence. She can kill just as easily. She takes. She dominates. She overpowers. But those are only stories. 

In Beacon Hills, those who are smart know that stories are far more than just stories.

"I saw something!" Scott McCall said to his best friend.

They were looking for Malia, one of their friends, who had run off into the woods in pursuit of deer. Scott stopped when he saw the surface of a nearby still body of water rustle as though something had moved from underneath the surface. 

Stiles approached the water, standing behind his friend and frowning at him, "Like what?"

"I think I saw..." A flash of brown rushed past his line of vision. His eyes went wide. "Is that hair?"

"Hair?" Stiles asked.

"Like long... human... brown hair," Scott repeated in disbelief.

He leaned in closer, his hand securely on a rock on one side of him as he looked closer to the water. Suddenly, a head popped out of the water with long strands of wet brown hair hanging at the sides of her cheeks. Scott jumped in shock and fell back against the rough dirt ground. She didn’t look frightened, but surprised, as though she had found something she didn’t think she’d find as she floated there, only her head out of the water.

."Oh my god," Stiles panicked, "I'm calling my dad."

"You do that," Scott agreed, then began to take off his jacket for the girl, "Hey, are you okay? Are you cold?"

The girl wasn't shivering. She only held completely still.

"You're one of them..." said her faint whisper.

"What?" Scott asked.

"You are one of them, aren't you?" the girl asked. Scott reached his arms into the water and pulled the girl out and placing her on a rock. She was wearing a green bathing suit top with purple shorts, her body now covered in goosebumps, her skin freshly exposed to the thin air.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Scott said, shaking his head, "Do you need help? Do you want us to call someone for you?"

The girl looked from the rocks on the shore to Scott with a sweet determination in her eyes, "Take me to see Agent McCall..."

Scott and Stiles exchanged a look towards each other. 

“Agent McCall?” Stiles asked quietly, “Why would you want to see him?”

“I just need to see him!” the girl spat, her fairy-like sound turning into sharp, cold knives in an instant. He felt the shiver down his spine at the sound.

Scott and Stiles tried their best to find Malia before they brought the stranger girl into the car. They called her name several times, Scott even howled once, but there was no sign of her anywhere. The only thing that assured them was the sound of a howl in response. They nodded to each other and headed into the car with the girl.

Stiles drove the girl covered in water in his car with Scott in the passenger seat. She was lying down on the ground with her hands folded neatly between her cheek and the seat with her eyes closed and a vacant expression on her face. Scott continued to look behind his shoulder at the girl, just checking to see if she had moved every 30 seconds.

"She's okay," Stiles assured him, "I can see her in my rear view mirror. She isn't moving."

Scott relaxes his muscles and sat back in his chair, "I guess I just kinda feel like she's gonna break... I don't wanna be responsible for that if she gets hurt."

"That's that hero instinct in you," Stiles teased, "You ALWAYS have to save an innocent damsel in distress."

"What?" Scott asked.

"You bring in a girl who begs to see your dad and you just HAVE to do what she says because she bats her little eyelashes at you," he chuckled.

"If you had just seen how terrified she was," Scott corrected him, "Anyone would have done the same if you had seen how scared she was."

Stiles looked into the rear view mirror once again, then started to catch himself doing it several times, sometimes staring for a little bit too long when he should have been keeping her safe by watching the road.

When they arrived at the police station, Scott and Stiles woke up the sleeping girl as if she was a child or some kind of delicate angel. She was wrapped in Scott's jacket as she walked on bare feet through the front door and into the sheriff's office, where Agent McCall was found sitting in a chair in front of Sheriff Stilinski's desk.

"So..." Scott said as he walked in, "I hate to interrupt, but Stiles and I were taking a little walk by the lake when we found a little surprise in the water."

"Who's this?" Sheriff asked, looking at the confused girl with now dry and wavy hair.

There was complete silence. The girl peeked her head past Scott's shoulder and saw Agent McCall sitting there in all of his glory as he watched with a dazed expression towards the two boys in front of her.

"Adrienne..." Agent McCall whispered as he stood up.

Stiles froze and caught his breath, trying his best not to laugh or make a joke even though he totally caught the “Rocky” reference.

"Hi..." she whispered, waving at him as though she were ashamed to be there.

"What happened to you?" he asked, pushing Scott and Stiles out of his way, "I thought you were still in Arizona."

"Rex could only watch after me for so long," she answered, "I had to find you... I didn't feel safe there."

After a little talking, Agent McCall offered to let Adrienne stay in the McCall house until she could get his friend, Rex, to come to California and get her. Nothing else was said. Scott didn't know how he knew the girl and who she was to him, and he would probably never give her an answer. It was weird how he could feel everything she felt, so she couldn't have simply been a random girl to come and go in only an instant.

Melissa was taking a night shift at the hospital, so Adrienne went into the bathroom and turned on the water, letting the tub fill up to the very brim. She hadn't been in the water with just her and her bare skin in ages. She always had to wear a bathing suit to a pool or the lake and Rex never let her take a bath because he thought it was dangerous for her to be submerged for too long.

It was an hour later when Scott had noticed that Adrienne wasn't in sight inside the house. He knocked softly on the bathroom door.

"Adrienne?" he asked.

"Yes?" her soft voice responded, "Is that Scott?"

"Yeah," he answered, "Are you okay in there? you've been in there for nearly an hour."

"I'm fine," she assured him, "I just like being in the water."

"Oh..." he said, trying to sound as not confused as he was, "So what brings you to Beacon Hills?"

"Agent McCall," she said, swirling the water around in the tub, not saying another word.

"I see," he nodded awkwardly.

"Plus, I am tired of being alone," she added.

"What about that Rex guy?" Scott asked.

She chuckled, "He's half the man he says he is."

Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of the doorbell ringing. Scott places his hand on the door.

"I'll be right back," he called, "Don't leave the bathroom till I say, okay?"

"Fine," she answered.

Scott went to the door and opened it to reveal an anxious Stiles, tapping his fingers at a fast pace against his leg. He was looking down at the porch, but once he looked up at Scott, he seemed determined and nervous.

"Hey," Stiles breathed.

"Hey man," Scott said, "What's up?"

"Is... she here?" he asked.

"Who?" Scott asked, raising one eyebrow.

"You know..." his voice grew to a whisper, "Adrienne."

“You don’t have to say her name like it’s a bad word,” Scott chuckled.

“But she might have, like, intense hearing or something,” Stiles shook his head, “Something about that girl gives me the creeps.”

“She’s just scared probably,” Scott explained, “She came all the way from Arizona and she won’t say why.”

“There’s nothing about this situation that screams ‘danger danger proceed with caution’ to you?” 

Scott shrugged. “No… not really.”

Only a few moments later, while Scott and Stiles discussed the McCall's new house guest while sitting on the couch eating chips, Melissa McCall came into the house and threw her bag onto the ground next to the door and her keys into the bowl that rested on the table.

"You don’t think she could be… you know..." Stiles asked.

"Like… what?" Scott asked, "She can’t be a werewolf. If she were, she’d be a different kind maybe."

“Scott, I don’t think there are different kinds of werewolves.”

Scott shrugged. “So maybe she’s just a regular girl… a regular girl who’s trying to run from something.”

“Who’s running from something?” Melissa chimed in.

The boys jumped at the sound of her voice and spun themselves around with their mouths wide open.

"Hey mom," Scott waved stiffly.

"Melissa," Stiles nodded.

"So here's the thing," Scott explained, "Dad has this friend-."

"Who's our age," Stiles added to avoid any further confusion.

"Yeah," Scott nodded, "and we found her in this lake, which is a little weird, but she said she wanted to see him and he asked me if we could let her stay the night and she's kind of in your bathtub as we speak." Melissa opened her mouth to speak, but then began to look into the dead air to process all of this.

"Where is he?" she asked.

"In the yard," Scott answered.

She nodded, then looked at the ground before shouting, "RAFAEL!" she called. 

Agent McCall came into the house after closing the screen door behind him.

"Hey Melissa," he said, "Is something wrong?"

"Who is this random house guest you’ve shoved into MY house and when is she leaving?" Melissa asked.

"Oh come on, Mel-."

"I know I said you could move back in for Scott's sake of having both his parents, but that doesn't mean you can just invite whomever you want to stay with you," Melissa argued, "I don't even know who this girl is and she's already using my bathroom!"

Agent McCall hushed her and grabbed her shoulders, "I know this may sound bad," he nodded, "but you have to understand that this girl's safety means everything to me..."

"Isn't that her parents' job?" she argued.

"Yes, but her parental situation is... complicated."

"Then doesn't that mean we should send her into the foster care system?"

Stiles jumped up onto his feet, "No! There has to be another way."

Scott looked at Stiles with a peculiar expression.

"Who is this girl?" Melissa hissed.

He took a deep breath as Scott and Stiles leaned into listen harder, "She's... she's my... I'm her Juvenile Probation Officer."

Everyone's eyebrows raised as they processed the big confession as to the identity of this girl. Not only was she a mysterious person, but she also had a criminal record, and a big enough one to need a probation officer around her at all times.

It made sense to Melissa, now that she thought about it a little more. It was in his job description to watch after this girl now, and leaving her in the middle of nowhere with a bunch of strangers wasn't the best thing for him. That's why her safety was so important to him, plus, she seemed like a sweet girl, from what she heard from Stiles and Scott. Now that Agent McCall was certain they believed his story, it gave him a little more time figure out how to tell them the truth.


	2. Hold Your Breath

Agent McCall wasn't going to get away with having a teenage girl live in his house and not send her to get some kind of education without Melissa getting on his case about it. The only reasonable solution was to send her to Beacon Hills High under the protection of Scott and Stiles. Melissa was a little uncomfortable with the thought, but she was always assured by Scott whenever the subject came up. No one could really blame poor Melissa for not feeling comfortable with the situation, especially since she still didn't even know the girl's name. Agent McCall refused to tell Melissa her name and always referred to Adrienne as "her".

During the hours of school at Beacon Hill High, Adrienne never went anywhere that wasn't beside either Scott or Stiles. She feared all the eyes that were staring at her as she walked down the hallway. She didn't want people to assume things about her just because she didn't say anything to anyone else except the two boys who stood protectively on either side of her.

The lunch rush scared Adrienne even more than she could have ever imagined. There were so many students piled one on top of the other trying to push past each other like it was a desert storm. Once she entered the large social space outside the main building, she felt slightly overwhelmed. Scott pointed to a table full of other beautiful girls who looked like they could do a lot more damage then assumed at first glance. Adrienne stepped back and hid behind Stiles for comfort.

"Hey," Stiles said, placing his hand on her back, "It's okay."

"These are just our friends," Scott said.

"Friends?" Adrienne protested quietly, “Can we trust them?”

"Yes. Scott and I trust them completely," Stiles assured her.

Adrienne looked between him and Scott, then nodded and stared at the floor as they walked towards the table.

"Hey guys," Malia waved.

"Hey," Scott said, taking a seat next to Kira and kissing her cheek, "How did that history assignment go for you this weekend?"

Kira shrugged, "More or less a breeze," she bragged.

"That's what happens when your dad teaches the class," Malia teased.

Malia shook her head and moved her torso forward only to catch a glimpse of the girl hiding her face behind thick locks of curly black hair with an innocent and light air about her.

"Who is this?" she asked.

Lydia and Kira’s eyes also darted towards the new girl, causing Adrienne to sink back further into her seat.

"Lydia, Malia, Kira," Scott said, "This is Adrienne."

Adrienne picked her hand up slightly, then twitched her fingers while looking above at them. Lydia assumed she was 

"Like from Rocky?" Malia asked. She had been doing a thorough watch of all the classic movies she didn’t watch because she was a coyote for 8 years.

"You see!" Stiles pointed aggressively at Malia, "I told you!"

Scott laughed, "She's staying at my house for a few days until her guardian can pick her up from Arizona."

"Wow," Kira said, widening her eyes, "So you're from Arizona. What brings you here?"

Adrienne brushed a lock of her hair away from her face, "Agent McCall is my probation officer."

Kira nodded awkwardly, "Oh..."

"Don't be frightened," Adrienne said comfortingly, "I never meant to be scary. It's just a few things from my past that are a little scratchy, that's all."

There was uncomfortable silence which followed that comment. She seemed so calm and okay with the last phrase she said, which slightly scared the other girls. They sat back in their chairs and began to eat their sandwiches with precision and delicacy. Adrienne watched how un-seemingly perfect they all were. It was like they weren't even real people, almost. Funny considering the others were watching her, and even though she wasn’t dressed or presented like it, she looked seemingly perfect, like a scared princess waiting to come out.

"So..." Scott said, patting his fingers on the table, "Adrienne... how would you like to hang out with the girls sometime? It might be fun to hang out with your own kind for a while."

Adrienne tensed up and scooted closer towards Scott and looking over at Stiles who was watching her as if she was a glass doll that could break if it wasn't placed in the right position.

"That's okay," she insisted with a nod, "Maybe sometime when I’m not so… new.”

Malia and Kira understood that far too well as she watched her try to hide between those two boys as much as possible. Stiles shrugged as if he wasn't going to argue with her, and Scott couldn't argue with his best friend, no matter how hard he tried.

Towards the end of the day, Scott had given Adrienne the unfortunate news that he and Stiles had lacrosse practice and she had to be on her own for a little bit until they came back. Instead of wandering around the school or sitting in the library and doing new school work, she waited outside of the boys locker room and stared at the wall in front of her, imaging whatever she wanted. As she began to get lost in her own findings inside her mind, a group of boys approached her with their lacrosse sticks over their shoulders.

"Hey," one of them said, "Look who it is."

"I know you," the other one grinned, "The new girl. What are you doing outside the boys locker room?"

"Waiting for someone," Adrienne replied under her breath, but the boys couldn't hear her, so they chuckled in response.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart," the first one said smoothly, "I couldn't quite hear you."

Adrienne lifted her head so she was looking at each boy rather than at the floor, "I am waiting for someone."

"Ooh," the second boy said happily, "Am I that lucky someone? I'd sure like to be."

"Sorry… no."

"No? That's too bad," the second boy said, patting the back of the first boy, "Maybe my buddy here is the one."

"I highly doubt that," she protested.

"Are you sure?" the same boy asked, "Why don't you take a better look?"

The first boy slowly approached Adrienne with a look of lust in his eyes as they grew wider and wider.

"No, it's okay," she said, pressing her hand against his chest as he gradually got closer to her.

"Maybe you need a little stimulation to help you remember," the first boy said, placing his hand on her waist.

"I mean it," she said sternly, "Please, get off me."

He whispered into her ear, "I know you want it..."

Adrienne didn't know how to defend herself this way. This was the first time something like this had ever happened. She knew how to reject boys, with or without a witty comeback, but she didn’t know how to get these boys off of her, at least without doing what she really shouldn’t do. One push too far and that would be the end of it. She would for sure go back to Arizona without another question answered. No way Agent McCall would allow her to stay. So what was she supposed to do? Stand there and take it. She closed her eyes tightly, wishing hard that either Scott or Stiles would find her.

"Adrienne?" a soft voice called from a distance, then she heard several footsteps and the voice grew louder, "Adrienne!?"

"Stiles..." she breathed.

The first boy turned around and saw Stiles standing there like a scared fish out of water.

"Stilinski? This is yours?" he asked, his eyes squinting in disbelief.

"That's a girl," Stiles said proudly, "and I suggest you listen to her when she says no, jackass."

She could feel the anger and fright boiling up in her stomach, like a ticking time bomb that was growing more and more powerful as each second ticked on by. Any moment now that bomb would burst and disaster would be splattered all over the walls and on the floor. She clenched the jaws in her stomach and her fists, trying her hardest not to make a scene. That's when the pipe burst and water came falling from the ceiling and onto the ground, causing the dusty brown walls to turn dark brown as the water hit from all sides.

"What the hell..." the first boy said sounding frightened as hell.

The boys looked at each other, freaked out, then pushed past Adrienne into the door to the locker room. Stiles was still standing there, and he didn't move, afraid to even touch her as she stood there looking like a combination between .

"Are you okay?" he asked cautiously.

She didn't move either. She just watched as the water fell from the metal tube onto the floor. Her heart rate was getting quicker and faster. Someone was going to ask how this happened. Maybe people would believe there was just a problem with the pipes in the basement and they just burst on their own. Maybe someone would figure out that pipes don’t just burst like that all at once, not commonly enough. Adrienne threw her hands into her hair as if to keep her brain from exploding.

"I-I can't," she whispered, "I thought I could do it..."

“Whoa hey…” 

Adrienne started breathing heavily, her eyes darting all over the room. She kept mumbling to herself, looking around as if the world was going to fall into little tiny pieces.

“Adrienne,” Stiles said quickly, rushing in front of her and grabbing her by the shoulders, “It’s okay. You’re having a panic attack.”

“I am?” Adrienne cried, “Why is this happening?”

“You’re stressed,” Stiles said, rubbing her shoulders, brushing her hair out of her face, “Look at me. We’re gonna sit down and I’m gonna help you.”

Adrienne nodded at him, still hyperventilating. With his hands on her body, he applied only the slightest bit of pressure on her towards the ground. Slowly she sat down up against the wall, the water from the pipes just underneath them. Her dark brown eyes never left his light brown eyes.

“I need you to listen and do everything I’m about to tell you, can you do that?” Stiles asked. Adrienne nodded. “Good… now… on the count of three I need you to hold your breath until you can’t anymore. Then you have to take slow, easy, and complete breaths. Can you do that?” Adrienne nodded again. “Okay. One… two… three!”

Adrienne closed her eyes as she pressed her lips together, holding her breath with all of her might. Stiles watched her carefully, making sure not a single hair was out of place. She felt the world stop turning, as if everything was slowing down back to its normal pace. When her lungs couldn’t handle it anymore, she opened her mouth and let out a big breath, sucking it in and taking another slow and complete deep breath, like he said. 

“One more,” Stiles assured her, taking his hands slowly away from her.

And so she did. One last deep breath and she was back on the ground, at least she felt like it this time. 

“Oh…” Adrienne sighed, feeling the sudden relief, “Thank you…”

“You’re welcome,” he said quietly, relaxing himself against the wall, not even caring that the bottom of his jeans were getting wet from all the water that was piling up, "I know those guys are jerks... and they shouldn't have touched you... I'm sorry."

"That’s not what caused… that," she shook her head, her hand on the ground, feeling the water against her skin.

"Then what?" he said, tilting his head slightly to get a better look at her.

"I have a secret," she whispered, looking up at him, "but you have to promise not to tell anyone, okay?"

Stiles nodded, "but let me ask you something first... when Scott found you... you said that he was one of 'them'... what does that mean?"

"It means I know he's a werewolf,” she answered quietly, “I saw it in the color of his eyes. They called to me and demanded me to reach the surface... I just hadn't seen a real True Alpha before."

"So..." Stiles said, shaking his head and blinking several times, "You knew all that just with red eyes?"

"I also know that his girlfriend is a kitsune," she said, looking straight out in front of her, "I know that you had a Nogitsune trapped inside your body... I know that the redhead is a banshee, and I know the loud one is a coyote."

Stiles opened his mouth to respond, but he didn't know what to respond with. He would ask how she knew all of that stuff, but then she would have said the answer to his next question, so he went with the ladder, then took a deep breath.

"Adrienne...?" he asked, "Are you... more special than others?"

Adrienne closed her eyes and let her head hit the back of the lockers again, "By special, you mean being able to tell the species of a person just by looking at them... then yes... you could say that..."

He took a moment and stared at the ground beneath him, then he looked at her hand. The rest of her body looked tense, but her hand seemed relaxed, the way it pressed against the wet floor, the water covering her finger tips.

"Is there anything else you’d like to tell me?" he finally asked.

Adrienne nodded. He was Scott’s friend. He saved her from that attack. It felt like he knew her longer than he actually did. Like he was some ghost always beside her finally deciding to show his face for the first time. She picked up her right hand and reached it across the hall to the bursting pipe just past them.

"Promise me you won't run away and tell people," she begged.

Stiles sat up on his knees so he was facing her directly, "I promise."

She nodded, then directed all of her energy towards the water fountain, feeling each pipe and every last drop of water inside the drain. Only moments later, the sprinkler-like fashion of the water turned into a single strand of liquid water floating out of the pipe. It didn’t crash to the ground, adding to the water already on the floor, but it just floated there. With a twist of her hand, it turned into a ball and the rest of the water stopped spewing from all sides. She brought that small little ball of water towards them, her fingers bending and twisting as if she were controlling it.

"You thirsty?" she said with a confident grin. It was probably the first time he had ever seen her in a positive state.

He nodded, not helping the joy forming on his own face as he watched her light up. Adrienne directed the ball of water towards Stiles and he opened his mouth. She pushed her hand closer to him and let the ball of water land on his tongue. He closed his mouth and swallowed all of it. 

"Okay... so that happened," he said into the air in front of him.

"Are you going to turn me in now?" she asked shyly.

"What?" he asked, trying to look at her hidden face, "Why would I do that?"

"Because I'm different," she answered, "because I can do things other kids can't. Most people don't like things that are different from them and publicly call out their difference so they can be condemned and judged."

He sighed, "What makes you think I'm like everybody else?"

Adrienne looked up at Stiles and, for the first time, she actually, fully smiled at him.


	3. Tethered

Scott picked up Adrienne on his bike and together they drove very safely and slowly back to Scott and Melissa's house. She held on very tightly even if they were going at a safe enough speed where she didn’t feel like she was going to fall off. Adrienne had told Scott what happened with those two boys after lacrosse practice, and he had no choice but to call Melissa and let her know what happened and why Adrienne would be a little shaken up. That came back to bite him as he walked through the door with Adrienne safely behind him.

"Scott," Agent McCall said, standing with his arms crossed and a sour look on his face, "I was informed about today's current events. Care to explain?"

"Before you get mad," Scott said calmly, "Let me just say that I wasn't gone for very long, and it wasn't my fault. She told me she found her way away from those guys and Stiles was watching after her the whole time."

"I gave you one job," Agent McCall said angrily, "That was to watch this juvenile delinquent with your life and make sure nothing happens to her... and you get her into this kind of trouble.”

"I'm sorry," he said softly, "I still have time to redeem myself, don't I?"

"For your sake," he answered sternly, "and for mine, it'd be best if you spent time with her as a friend rather than a rare caged animal.” Adrienne snored. Agent McCall ignored her. “She is very important to me, so I'd like for you two to get to know each other a little better. That way protecting her won't seem like such a chore. Understood?"

Adrienne came out from behind Scott and nodded in response. So spend more time together they did. The next day, Scott suggested that the two of them put on workout clothes and go for a little exercise. Agent McCall and Melissa were naive if they ever believed they were going running anywhere but the woods. Adrienne agreed that it was the best path to use, with its twists, turns, and obstacles. They went out in the afternoon into the woods and ran for nearly a half an hour beside each other, trying to test each other's limits and use different obstacles like trees and roots that stuck out of the ground.

Once they ran out of breath, Scott called for a time out and rested his upper body weight on his knees, propping himself up with his hands.

"I didn't know you could run so fast," Scott breathed heavily.

Adrienne nodded, out of breath as well, "I didn't know you could either."

"Do you wanna take a break before we head back out?" he asked.

"Sure," she said, leaning against a fallen tree trunk, "So do you usually do this?"

"Only for school," he said, "My girlfriend does this sometimes."

"Kira?" she asked.

"Yeah," Scott answered, "We used to run this course together during cross country season."

"I never get to run like this," Adrienne added, "Rex never let me out of his sight, so I always ran on sidewalks while he drove alongside me. I could never go fast."

"Ever?" he asked.

"Never," she rolled her eyes, "You know what? I like being a little dangerous. No one knows we're out in the woods, we get to run fast... I never get to feel like that."

"Why?" he asked, "Cause your probation officer demands it of you?"

She looked down at the ground and shook her head, "It's like I'm his precious diamond... He says you guys treat me like a caged animal but you’re actually the first people to treat me like an actual human being… and all he can listen to is what happened with those two boys… he feels like he has to blame it on someone just to be able to sleep at night. He needs to relax. It’s only the first time something truly horrible has ever happened to me.”

"Really?" he asked.

"Well… there’s been other stuff, but..." she shrugged, "I mean, in my opinion, a worse thing has happened to me… but I was so small I hardly remember it… being ripped from my mother’s arms at birth."

Scott opened his mouth and sighed, "Jeez... I'm sorry."

"My dad left me with Rex and then moved on with his life," she continued, "Then I had no one."

"You have your probation officer," Scott said, "That's good, right?"

She shook her head, "He's the one who took me from my mother's arms..."

"What?" Scott asked, "My dad took you from your mother?"

Adrienne suddenly looked at him, her jaw fell open and the rest of her body unable to move. "Your dad...?" she breathed.

"Yeah," he answered quite plainly.

It was like she couldn’t even breathe, little did she know it was for the best reason possible. “Oh…”

"What?" Scott asked, concerned, as he scooted himself closer to her, "Are you okay?"

"Agent McCall," she said, "He's your father?"

"Yes," Scott nodded.

A look of grief and happiness then washed over her face at the same time, "He's my father too..."

"What?" he asked.

"It's true," she insisted, "He's always hidden me, made sure that I can't be linked to one of the most famous FBI agents in Arizona. He says it keeps criminals from targeting me to get to him. That's why he says he's my probation officer, why I use a fake last name, to keep my identity safe.”

Scott then dropped his jaw and widened his eyes, "My dad had another kid?"

"Apparently so," Adrienne nodded, "I mean, I saw some similarities between you and dad, but I didn't think that meant anything..."

He gripped his hands onto her shoulders. "Do you know what this means?"

"What?" she asked, frightened.

"You're not just some random girl who popped into our lives," he said, "Adrienne... you're my sister..."

It took her a moment to process this. First, she had finally told someone, other than Rex, that her probation officer was really her father, and now that person just so happens to be her half brother. Adrienne had always wanted a sibling to share her life with, and now she finally had that. Scott was standing right in front of her with a smile on his face. She couldn't help but throw herself into her brother's arms for the first time to meet and warm and protective embrace who understood her and accepted her. This was what she had been longing for since she was a child, a real family.

"Wait..." Adrienne sniffed, "If we have the same father... then that means you can help me find out who my mother is, can't you?"

"Of course," he nodded, "Anything... I feel like I owe you so much right now. You've been so alone and so isolated from everything. I bet you must have been dying for a brother or sister or something."

"It's okay," she said calmly, "You have plenty of time to put hair dye into my shower head or point at me and say you're not touching me but let's just talk to our dad first, okay?"

"Our dad," he said, "Let's do that."

The two of them sprinted towards the bike and drove a little faster than usual, simply because of all the adrenaline and excitement within Scott and Adrienne. They arrived at the house only a few moments later and they both ran into the house to see Melissa at the dining room table.

"Hey guys," she greeted, "How was your run?"

"Fine," Scott answered.

“Is Agent McCall around?” Adrienne asked.

"Right here," Agent McCall said, bringing a cup of coffee to the table and placing it in front of Melissa, "What's going on? Are you okay, Adrienne?"

"I'm fine," she said, " _ Dad _ ..."

Agent McCall's eyebrows suddenly hit the ceiling and Melissa coughed several times. Scott quickly went to her side and patted her on the back.

"Adrienne, not now," Agent McCall cautioned.

"It's okay, dad," Scott said, "We both know. We both told the truth and now we both know that we're your kids."

Agent McCall stood there, dumbfounded, without saying a single word. It ached at Adrienne's nerves that he couldn't do anything in reaction. She wanted him to feel guilt. She wanted him to break down and apologize for the whole thing, to say he regretted the way he brought her up. But he didn’t say a thing. Not a single damn thing.

"So you lied to me," she said, "You lied to me for  _ seventeen years _ about me not having a family who wanted me when my brother was here all along... and you have  _ nothing _ to say?" Silence. "Fine... then I guess it's time for me to say something... Who is my mother?"

"Adrienne-."

"Don't tell me she's not important," she protested, "because my mother means the world to me. She gave birth to me, she loved me, you  _ ripped _ me from her arms when all she ever wanted to do was love me. I want to know who she is."

"Please, not now," Agent McCall begged.

"Tell me!" Adrienne screamed, then saw the distress in Melissa McCall's eyes. She was Scott's mother. She had wavy black hair and olive skin. She had the biggest brown eyes in the entire world. Adrienne approached her and got on her knees in front of her.

"What is your name?" Melissa asked quietly, "He refused to tell me..."

"Adrienne," she said quietly, "My name is Adrienne Calliope McCall... and I think you're my mother..."

Melissa then began to form tears in her eyes as she pressed her fingers to her mouth.

"I am," she said, placing her hands on both of Adrienne's cheeks, "And do you know how I know that?" Adrienne shook her head, "Because... when I was pregnant, we got an ultrasound to see the sex of the baby… we only say one baby on the screen,” she placed her hand on Scott’s cheek, “but just before my due date arrived, I got my last ultrasound done and we found, not only one baby, but two…” she looked at Adrienne, who looked straight to her brother, “there were two babies all along… the doctor said that the brother was shielding the sister the whole time, keeping her safe.” Melissa sighed. “But before the first year was over, our marriage failed and we had to find some way to settle things, so Scott belonged to me… and Adrienne belonged to your father.”

“Wait…” Scott said, his expression going blank like a freshly erased slate, “So… Adrienne’s not just my sister…” he looked right at her, finally realizing the connection between them, seeing the tether that reached right to her, “she’s my twin.”

Adrienne nodded, “We’re twins…”

She couldn't hold in her joy and sadness any longer. Something in her gut told her to burst free, so she did. She and Scott and Melissa all stood up on their feet and hugged each other more tightly than they had ever been hugged before. This was what she wanted all those years in that shack with Rex by herself, staring up at the dark ceiling, wondering what it would be like to be in a mother's arms. This was it. It made tears form in her eyes as well. Finally, there was a two-story house in the suburbs with a fence and a backyard. Inside that house was a living room and a kitchen and four bedrooms with two and a half bathrooms, and there was also a mom, a dad, a son/brother, and a daughter/sister. Adrienne McCall had a family and a home.


	4. An Untold Story

It took several weeks for things to fall back into place. The entire household, including Agent McCall, was mad at Agent McCall for keeping everything Adrienne could have had a secret. Of course, Adrienne was still going to be mad at her father for keeping this from her, but she would forgive him eventually. Especially since he found his own place in town and decided to stay permanently in order to keep the family together. He even gave consent to let Adrienne stay at her mother’s house in order to get to know her family better.

"Wait," Stiles said, as he and Scott were walking down the hallway, "You found out a month ago that Adrienne is your sister?"

"Yeah," Scott said proudly.

"And you're just now telling me?" Stiles sassed, "Dude! What happened to best friends?"

"I'm sorry but I wasn't allowed to tell anyone until we were okay with what we were gonna tell people," he defended, "I mean, I also have to kind of get used to having a twin sister before I tell everyone I have a twin sister."

"So are you used to it yet?" Stiles asked.

"To be honest, I don't think I'll ever get used to it," he said, "Think about it, out of nowhere, there's this girl who is my twin of all things. Weird, right?"

"Not weird enough that you can't tell your best friend," Stiles said, raising his eyebrows, "What if I randomly get a twin sister and I don't tell you?"

"Then I'd understand," Scott said sweetly.

"Fuck you and your empathy," Stiles spat.

The school bell rang and Stiles got a smile on his face.

"What's got you so happy to go to class?" Scott asked, patting him on the back.

"Oh nothing," he said, chuckling, "It's just that I have class with your sister next period."

"Hey!" Scott said sternly, "Easy there. Remember, that's my baby sister."

"Twin,” Stiles corrected, “And I will treat her with the utmost respect.”

"Good man," Scott nodded, "If you don't, I might have to rip your head off."

Stiles walked down the other direction of the hallway, but threw his arms up in relief as he walked backwards away from his best friend.

"At long last," he exaggerated, "Scott McCall has finally found someone who means more to him than me. Bravo!"

Scott chuckled and walked up the stairs. Stiles went into his English class with no teacher at the front of the classroom. The most difficult thing for Stiles to do in a class without Scott, was find someone to sit with. Lydia had shut him out and was sitting amongst a group of drooling boys, so that wasn't an option, but there was a big clump of brown hair in the corner back of the classroom with one empty desk next to it.

"Cool if I sit here?" Stiles asked.

Adrienne lifted her head from her paper she was doodling on, and smiled at him, "Of course."

He dropped his backpack beside the desk and sat in the chair, tapping his fingers against the table the second he sat down, trying to avoid any awkward silence with his best friend's sister.

"How are you?" Adrienne asked, her head resting on her hand as she faced him.

It took a moment for him to realize that he was speaking to her, "Who me?"

She nodded sweetly, "Do I have any other friends in this class?"

He opened his mouth to protest, then he saw the groups of people in their tight knit cliques, not even glancing to a second at her, "I guess not," he shrugged, "Ummm... I'm alright. How about you?"

"Fairly well," she smiled, "I suppose that Scott's already told you about... you know."

"Yeah," he nodded, "He actually just told me right now... that's cool, you guys are twins.”

"It's very cool," she agreed, "And a good thing we found out earlier rather than later."

"Why’s that?"

Adrienne laughed, “Can you imagine if we got into a Luke and Leia situation? I don’t think I’d be able to play it as cool as she did when she found out.”

“And she can’t play that ‘I think I’ve always known’ bullshit,” Stiles shook his head.

“If she did, she wouldn’t have kissed him in Empire Strikes Back,” Adrienne cringed, “I don’t care who you’re trying to make jealous, that’s just something you don’t do if you’ve ‘always known’ you’re somebody’s twin sister.”

“Finally!” Stiles sighed in relief, “A McCall who has seen Star Wars.”

“Seen it?” Adrienne scoffed, “I  _ live _ Star Wars. Star Wars is my lifestyle.”

“You’re amazing… Scott should’ve randomly discovered you sooner.”

“Sure,” she agreed, “Maybe by now my mom would finally leave me alone."

Stiles frowned, “Mom problems already?”

She sighed, "She walks me up to my room every night and insists on tucking me in, she wakes me up every morning with breakfast in bed, then she drives me to school on her way to work instead of letting me go with Scott, then she picks me up every. single. day. and she makes me a snack and sits me down so we can have ‘mommy time’."

"That sounds nice," Stiles shrugged, looking at his desk.

"I mean, I shouldn't be picky," she shook her head, "I haven't had a mom all of my life, and when I finally get one-."

"You should cherish her," Stiles said, slowly looking up at her, "because you never know the moment you're going to lose her..."

"Exactly..." Adrienne said slowly.

"Alright class!" the english teacher called, breaking the daze between Adrienne and Stiles and made them face to the front of the classroom, "Today, we're going to be going over the expositions of your short stories you wrote for homework. I want you to get into pairs and share each other's work, maybe give some constructive criticism or some positive feedback. We'll group back together in 20 minutes. That should be plenty of time."

Adrienne peaked only slightly at Stiles who was still sitting next to her and didn't retreat at the idea that they might have to work together.

"I guess that's us," Stiles said casually.

"Yeah, I guess so," she said, pulling out a sheet of white paper with two paragraphs typed on it, handing it to him.

Stiles started rummaging through his several piles of paper as awkwardly as possible to find a slightly wrinkled piece of paper. He was surprised it came out so well. "Here... it's not my best work, but it's alright."

Adrienne smiled at him and placed the work on her desk. She began to read about something that seemed so classically Shakespearean. The voice of the narrator was in the first person as they simply watched this princess in a balcony. The narrator explained every last detail, from the tip of her waist-length hair, to the smooth skin on her neck, to the beauty in her enchanting eyes. Adrienne never knew that Stiles was this artistic with his words. In person, he was such a klutz and a bit of a goof. Now, she was holding his carefully written out thoughts, and it was beautiful. She had never seen something so romantic in her entire life.

Unfortunately, his writing finished and the last line of the paragraph ended with with ' _ but I walked away, for she was a diamond amongst a dusty old mine, and I was simply a pebble, wishing to share her presence and be in her world, while all I could do was sit amongst the other dirty and remains of my broken heart _ '.

"So," Stiles said, holding her story in his hand, "I think you could use a little more imagery. Imagery kind of paints the story out a little more, and that would really strengthen the scene you’re about to begin. Other than that, you have a solid piece of work here... I like how you wrote about a girl in this kind of awakening."

"It's the best topic I could write about," she shrugged, "I like your story."

"Thanks," he said, "It took me a while to figure out what I wanted to write about."

"It payed off," she nodded, "but I just have one things to say... if this man idolizes this princess, how come he doesn't give her a name? I think that if someone loves something enough, then it should have a name, that way they feel a deep personal connection to it. Also, by naming the princess, the line where it says she doesn't know his name, it makes the story that more heartbreaking that he has this deep passionate love for her that she'll never reciprocate."

Stiles looked towards the front of the room, to see the strawberry blonde girl with the red lips as she twirled her hair in her fingers and talked to the boys surrounding her, as if they were her personal flying monkeys.

"The princess is beautiful," Adrienne continued, still looking down at the page.

"Lydia..." Stiles said, still looking at her.

"What?" Adrienne asked, trying to gain his eye contact.

He finally shook his leg and looked at Adrienne nervous, "Her name... her name is Lydia..."

"That's nice," Adrienne said, now looking at the ground as she handed Stiles back his story.

It was an odd feeling that Adrienne hadn't experienced before. For a moment there, she wanted to be that image of perfection, that princess in the balcony. She wanted to be Lydia, the one whom Stiles put up on a pedestal just to simply admire. It seemed like a perfect fantasy to be admired by somebody in that way; to be held in someone's arms and to be told that they would never let anyone take her away from them. Yes, it was a long shot, because she was new in town and hardly knew anyone except her friends and new family.

Adrienne carried these thoughts as she walked down the hallway with her books under arm. She heard several lockers close behind her, but they didn't make her slow down or speed up in any kind of way.

"Hey," a guy's voice called behind her, and her eyes grew wide, "You're Scott's sister, right?"

Adrienne turned around only to see a boy who was unfamiliar to her.

"Sorry," he said, backing up a little bit, "I didn’t mean to scare you off or anything."

She squinted at the boy for a second, then saw the human blood that ran through his veins. She only saw his chocolate brown eyes. Funny how she only seems to trust people who have supernatural abilities and the humans are the ones to be afraid of. Then she began to recognize his face, the same one that was in her math class the other day.

"Are you..." she began, but then took a deep breath, "You’re in my math class, right?"

"First period,” he nodded, “You probably never notice me cause you’re too busy trying to wake up. I’m Will.”

"Ah yes," Adrienne said, holding out her hand to him, "I knew I remembered your face from somewhere. I’m Adrienne."

"It’s nice to formally meet you, Adrienne," Will said, shaking Adrienne's hand, “Welcome to Beacon Hills. I trust you’re informed on the little town secret?”

"You mean the mysterious animal attacks?" she asked, "Yes, I'm aware."

"Yeah," he sighed, "It’s kind of a lot. I hope that doesn’t scare you away or anything."

"If there’s anything I’m scared of, it’s not that," she said, making Will's eyes grow wide.

"Adrienne!" Kira called from the other side of the hallway, waving her hand in the air.

"Oh well," Will shrugged, "I guess now's not the time for ‘getting to know you’ conversation. But how about lunch?”

“What about lunch?”

“You’re asking me to lunch?” Will teased, “I’d love to!”

Adrienne chuckled, “You’re a sneaky one, Will.”

“Not as sneaky as you’d think,” he said, “but I would really like to eat some kind of food with you so we can have a semi-awkward conversation until we find something more interesting to discuss.”

Adrienne nodded, “Sure… I’ll think about it.”

“Good.”

Adrienne's eyebrows raised as Will walked away from her and down the opposite end of the hallway. She continued to walk in a straight line to Kira, who was standing at her locker, which was filled with pictures of her and Scott. The second Will was out of sight, Adrienne shut her locker and rushed over to her.

"What was that about?" Kira asked suspiciously, "What were you doing talking to Will?"

"He was talking to me," Adrienne corrected, "and I don't know what  _ that _ was about."

"Look, Adrienne," Kira said sweetly, "Scott told me everything about you and him and your family... and since I'm dating your brother, it would be rude of me not to say that we couldn't be friends, cause we totally can."

"Yeah, of course," Adrienne nodded.

"But with Will on top of everything else," she continued, "If you ever need someone to talk to, I am here for you."

"Thanks," she smiled

Adrienne never really had a friend who was a girl before. The idea of sitting in a pink bedroom amongst a fuzzy carpet painting toenails wasn't exactly Adrienne's idea of a fun night, but every now and then she wondered what it would be like just to sit in a corner and cry into a girl best friend's arms because a guy just wouldn't understand. Say there was boy drama with Will or whoever, Scott wouldn't be the one she would confide in because he was becoming just as protective as her dad. She was glad Kira extended the friendship invitation to her, otherwise, she wouldn't have felt like she truly belonged in Beacon Hills. Now, she felt better to call this new place home.


	5. Currents

It was just after 5 o'clock at the McCall household. Agent McCall was stuck in the kitchen washing dishes from dinner as her permanent punishment for not telling Adrienne or anyone else about her family. It was the start of a long list of things he would have to be paying for. Melissa was upstairs, taking off her scrubs from work and replacing them with pajamas as a way to signify that no one should be asking her to do anything else for the rest of the evening. Scott was in his room blasting music and Adrienne was on the couch with her homework in her lap. That's when the doorbell rang.

"Somebody get that please!" Melissa called.

"I got it mom!" Adrienne answered. She put her homework on the other side of the couch, then walked to the door only to see Stiles standing on the porch with his hands in his pockets and his shoulder shoved up to his ears.

Adrienne opened the door, "Oh look. Stiles is here. That's new..."

She walked back into the house as Stiles followed her and closed the door behind him, "Sarcasm," he sighed, "Isn't that lovely?"

"The peachiest," Adrienne answered, then called up the stairs, "Scott! Your boyfriend's here to play!"

There was no response, only the sound of running water from the kitchen and the loud thump of the bass coming from Scott's room. Melissa could hear her, though, and she laughed from where she was standing. Finally, someone made that joke. She was dying to ever since they turned 16, but she thought it would be insensitive. At least Adrienne was his sister and it was her job to crack jokes about her brother like that.

"Actually," Stiles choked out, "If it's okay, I kinda hoped to see you here."

"Really?" Adrienne asked, turning around, "What for?"

"I don't know," he shrugged, "Maybe we could... chill here, hang out for a bit... I just feel bad cause I'm like best friends with Scott and I feel like I know nothing about you except that you have really awesome powers."

She chuckled and walked towards the couch, leaning her body against it as she propped herself up with her hands, "Alright. What do you suggest we do?"

"We could uh... study, if you want," he suggested, indicating her homework on the couch.

She shook her head, "Yes because that's exactly what one should do if they wish to get to know someone."

"See, there's one thing," Stiles said, "I didn't know you were so sarcastic."

"I've recently mastered the art since my arrival in Beacon Hills," she said proudly.

He laughed, "Okay, how about this. We go for a drive or something. I can show you the places you don't know in town."

Adrienne smiled, "I'd like that a lot."

It was more than easy to let her parents go out for a quick drive with Stiles. They trusted him enough and so did Scott, so they knew nothing was going to happen between them that was more than just small talk and the road. So, they got into Stiles' car and drove down the woods for several minutes without saying anything, just watching the road ahead of them and the trees that surrounded them.

"Back in English class today," Adrienne began to speak, "We connected about something..."

"Did we?" Stiles asked, “Was it Star Wars?”

"Well sure, but there was something else,” she chuckled. “About my mom… you practically voiced the thought that had been racing in my head for weeks. How did you know that?"

"I'm not some kind of mind reader, if that's what you're thinking," he commented, "but yeah... I kinda know what it's like to not have a mother for a long time."

"Really?"

There was silence as Stiles collected his thoughts.

"I was just a kid," he said, "My mom... had this brain disease..."

There was only silence again. She reached over and placed her hand on top of his.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered.

He let out a quick breath and squeezed his eyes shut for a nano second before looking back at the road again.

"It's okay," he replied, "I'm okay..."

She smiled at him and looked down at her hands, still touching his softly. She rubbed her thumb against his hand anyway, because she understood what it was like to feel abandoned and left alone with no one but a father in law enforcement, not sure if they were going to make it out alive or not. During those years in Arizona when Adrienne sat alone in her bed, desperately wanting a mother to read her a bedtime story, she wished that the unbearable pain to go away.

"I don't wish the pain of not having a mother on my own worst enemy," she commented.

He nodded and continued to drive without replying to her. Adrienne looked out of the window to avoid any awkward silence that would follow, but that's when she saw a large lake, engulfed by the trees surrounding it.

"Stiles..." she said softly, "Can we...?"

He looked in the direction she was looking in and saw the ripples in the water brushing up against the rocks of the shore. He then saw the wonder and desperation in her eyes. Then he grabbed the wheel tightly and pulled over to the side. It was a little random, but he loved seeing that kind of passion in her eyes for something.

Adrienne got out of the car and walked, almost floated, over to the water and placed one foot into the cool and thin liquid, which fueled her like a run down car finally being filled with gasoline. It set off a fire in her heart. The water was like her redemption, her passion, and her inspiration, feeling each and every new wave of water as if it were a silky smooth blanket. That's when she finally dived straight into the deep water, watching the rocks under her and the small fish that swam amongst her as the air bubbles rose to the surface. She then felt skin begin to change, as though it were adjusting from land to water to allow her access to the water. Her eyes were not in any pain to be in the water and she didn't hold her breath, but simply breathed as if the water had been flowing through her lungs for years.

To be fully wrapped in the water's embrace was something that she had dearly missed since she was pulled from that very same place by her brother. From where she was, she could see every single thing that was in the lake, from the shore closest to her all the way to the far end of the shore, where bigger fish and seaweed flowed together like clouds and wind. Her father had told her to never give in to what the water had to offer, but to be away from it felt like a sin. Her true belonging was beneath the surface, under the waves and the wind that pushed it. It was then that she heard someone calling her from all the way up to land.

"Adrienne?" Stiles called. She could hear it crystal clear as if he were standing right next to her.

She swam all the way up to the surface and bobbed there in the water, watching as the small figure of Stiles stood at the shore and her eyes flashed bright blue.

Adrienne swam up to the shore and grabbed onto one of the rocks, smiling intently at him.

"So this is your place?" Stiles asked, taking a seat on the rock nearest her.

"Yeah," she said, looking back at the water, "This is it."

"So..." he began awkwardly, "What exactly are you?"

"I'm a Naiad," she said proudly, "More commonly known as Nymphs. I’m specifically a water nymph. You may have heard of these from Greek mythology; the enchanting creatures who come from the water to lure a men in and drown them."

Stiles readjusted his seating position so his legs weren't facing the water. Adrienne giggled.

"Don't worry," she calmed him, "Oceanids haven't drowned men since ancient times."

"Oceanids," Stiles repeated, "Those are the nymphs who were associated with Poseidon."

"Ah," Adrienne smiled, "So you did pay attention in history."

"Greek Mythology is interesting to me," he shrugged.

"But this century’s Oceanids are much more evolved," she added, "After Poseidon's kingdom was attacked, several Naiads were killed. Poseidon gave the Oceanids the greatest gift of sight, that way we would know our attackers and how to defeat them with just one glance. We call it Poseidon’s sight."

"That's intense," Stiles said, “So… you’re literally from Ancient Greece? I thought you were Scott’s twin.”

“I am Scott’s twin,” Adrienne nodded, “When the original Naiads of Greece died of natural causes, their spirits continued on and inhabit the bodies of those worthy. Sometimes it happens later on in life, when the spirits decides you’re ready. Most times, like me, they inhabit you seconds after birth.”

“So you just have an ancient greek spirit roaming around in your body?”

“And sometimes she likes to come out and play, especially when we lose control of our emotions. If you thought supernatural water powers and the sight were cool, then you should see what happens when I get too angry. It's kinda cool at first… but it can be dangerous. Too dangerous, in fact. When a Naiad gets too angry, the original manifests itself in the form of unspeakable power and rage. It’s not doing it for mischief, but it’s actually protecting me. Anger is sort of like… a trigger. Once it’s pulled, the spirit helps defend me. Sometimes it can be catastrophic, though. It's kind of like what people think werewolves are; beasts who can't control their homicidal habits even if they wanted to."

"So, what? If you get too angry, you get taken over by this murderous rampaging spirit?"

"Basically," she nodded, "I have to control my emotions all the time. One temper tantrum and I'm capable of the scariest things... Even people with really cool water powers have a dark side."

"Then I promise I won't get on your bad side," Stiles said.

"Good," she whispered, followed by silence as they simply looked at each other, then she cleared her throat to get rid of the tension, "So... tell me about yourself."

“I don’t think I can make myself sound as cool as a powerful water spirit, but I can sure as hell try,” he sighed, making her laugh, “What do you want to know?"

"Hmm... favorite color, obviously."

"That's easy," he said, "I like red and blue a lot."

"Two favorite colors," she raised her eyebrows, "You better slow down there."

He chuckled, "What else do you want to know? Ask me anything."

She pursed her lips and thought for a moment before speaking, "Okay... favorite memory? when did you meet my brother? how long have you been at Beacon Hills? I'm kind of curious about the Nogitsune thing that happened to you, so I'd like to know about that. Who was your first kiss? and Who was your first crush?"

"Wow," Stiles said, doing a double take, "Okay, let's see. Memory; when I was about 8 years old, Scott finally let me be Batman instead of Robin when we were in the school yard. I met Scott when I was in Kindergarten. I've lived in Beacon Hills my entire life. I was possessed by a weird trickster spirit and killed several people without my knowing which was probably the weirdest thing that has ever happened to me. Ever. My first kiss was my friend Heather. My first crush... well, I guess you don't have to be a Naiad to figure that out."

"Lydia..." she answered, "The girl from your story... the strawberry blonde."

"Yeah, her," he said, scratching the back of his neck.

"She's beautiful."

"Beautiful," he scoffed, "That doesn't even begin to describe her... I've been in love with her since I first met her in freshman year of high school... and I'm still hooked on her..."

Adrienne nodded and looked at the rocks on the shore, how they were all so content just sitting there perfectly resting next to each other without a single pebble out of place.

"When you want something..." she said, "You either fight for it... or let it go. There's no in between."

He nodded, "I know..."

There wasn't really anything left to discuss between the two of them as their evening of "getting-to-know-you" came to a close. Stiles dropped Adrienne off in front of her house and they exchanged a slightly awkward "i'll see you at school" before Adrienne went into the front door and locked it behind her. Part of her wished that the night would have lasted longer. She enjoyed talking to Stiles, figuring him out and what his deal is. Another part of her wanted to punch herself and lock herself in her room for the rest of eternity, because slowly but surely, Adrienne could feel something tugging at her heart, and she was afraid it was Stiles.


	6. Give Will a Chance

 

Adrienne woke up to the sound of sizzling and music. She rested in her beige painted room with new blue sheets and brand new photos she had taken up on the walls. That was all she could that was made of her new bedroom, but after some time and a little more money, that would change and Adrienne would finally move in officially.

"Scott!" Melissa called from downstairs, "Adrienne! Breakfast!"

She pushed the covers in front of her off her to reveal her sweatpants and blue polyester top with black flowers on it and her hair in a tight pony tail above her head. She opened her bedroom door only to see Scott there too, just coming out of his room with his hair in a big mess and his wrinkled t-shirt and sweatpants.

"Morning, big brother," she said, passing Scott towards the stairs.

"Morning, baby sister," Scott said, following her down the stairs.

"Mom," Adrienne called, heading towards the kitchen, "What smells so good?"

Melissa was in the kitchen, setting up two plates on the kitchen table while she was in her scrubs.

"Your father actually made pancakes for you today," she said proudly.

Agent McCall came over and placed two pancakes from a pan onto each other their plates.

"Plain for Scott and blueberry for Adrienne," he said.

Once the pan was put down, Adrienne ran into his arms and hugged him very tightly. He was a bit caught off guard by this, but he was happy just to have his daughter look in his direction, let alone hug him again. He had never actually made blueberry pancakes for her before. He had taken her out to crummy diners for them once in a blue moon, but she always made them herself.

"I love you dad," she whispered.

"I love you too, sweetheart," he said, stroking her long black hair, "Now get eating, you don't want to be late for school today."

She smiled and sat down at the table opposite Scott.

"Now remember," Melissa said, "Scott, you have lacrosse practice today, which means Adrienne-."

"Is getting a ride from Kira," Adrienne finished.

"Excellent," she said, kissing Adrienne's head, then Scott's, "I love you both. Have a wonderful day."

"Bye mom," Adrienne waved with a fork in her hand.

"See ya," Scott said, immediately digging into his plate afterwards.

They heard the front door open, then close in the same second. It wasn't long before both of them finished their breakfast with a glass of milk on the side. Adrienne got dressed in a purple tank-top with a sea-green skirt and sheer beige tights with a subtle sparkle. Dressing better was just another step in the right direction towards feeling like she truly belonged.

"Dad," Adrienne called, walking into the room with her combat boots on, "How do I look?"

Agent McCall shrugged as he finally finished running the dishwasher, "Great."

He approached her slowly, then kissed her head. Scott walked in with his backpack on his right shoulder in his blue t-shirt and jeans.

"Let's go," Scott said.

"Alright," Adrienne nodded, "Bye dad."

"Bye Adrienne," he called after her, then he looked to Scott, "Bye Scott! Have a good day!"

"Yeah," Scott called back, closing the door behind him.

"Come on, Scott," Adrienne rolled her eyes at him, "Can you at least try to get along with our dad?"

"The same dad who kept my own sister away from me for 17 years?" Scott raised his eyebrows, "Yeah, I think it'll take a little more than a month to make up for that amount of time."

"But you have to at least promise me you'll give him a chance," Adrienne said, opening the back door and throwing her backpack on the seat.

"Sure," Scott said, opening the driver side door and getting inside, "I’ll give dad a chance if you give Will a chance."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Adrienne asked, getting into the passenger side.

"I mean, a little birdy told me about your school girl crush on that boy from math class," he teased.

"Who? Will?" she asked, throwing her head against the seat as the car started to move, "Really Scott?"

"All I'm saying is that he's got an eye on you. I've also got an eye on him."

"What's so wrong about a boy taking a little interest in me? I don't see anything wrong with it."

"There’s nothing wrong with it. In fact, there’s hardly anything wrong with it."

"Really?" she asked, raising her eyebrows with sass, “You think I should go for it?

“Yeah," Scott sighed, "He's a nice guy. I just want you to be careful.”

“I’m guessing when you say ‘be careful’, you’re not talking about safe sex,” Adrienne said, rolling her eyes, “You’re talking about the fact that if we get too serious he’s going to eventually learn about how once a month we have our own version of Halloween that horrifically and terrifyingly realistically graphic.”

“You’d be lying to yourself if you thought that wasn’t going to be a contributing factor,” Scott shrugged.

Scott was right. Damn him, she thought. Will was, for sure, a nice guy. In fact, each morning in math class since introducing himself, he’s taken the time to throw a note at Adrienne's head. It said, "Hello beautiful" followed by another one that said "why are you so far away?". She didn't write any notes back, but just kept receiving them as they came every 10 minutes. They were flirtatious and friendly. 

After class finished and the bell rang, Adrienne gathered up her books and gracefully left the classroom as Will noticed her long waves bouncing up and down against her back. He took the back door to the classroom and ended up face to face with his object of desire.

"Did I also mention that your hair looks wonderful this morning?" he asked, leaning smoothly against the wall.

Adrienne blushed, but tried to walk away from him anyway,.

"What?" Will said, following her, "Are you too shy to talk to me or something?"

"No," she answered, not looking at him, “My brother says to be careful.”

“Be careful?" he asked, "Why?"

"Because he said so."

"I hardly qualify that as a reason."

"I think that I should at least take that into consideration, don't you agree?"

"Well yeah..." he said, as he slowed down his pace. He noticed Adrienne walking ahead of him, so he picked up his pace again into a small jog to get next to her again, "but what's life without a little risk, you know what I mean?"

She stopped walking and tilted her head at him, "Yeah, I guess," then continued walking.

"So does that mean you'll go out with me?" he asked, standing still as she walked ahead of him.

Adrienne teasingly turned around, letting her hair fall in front of her face, "It means we can be friends."

Will smiled, "It's a start! I'll take it!"

That wasn't the end of Will's relentless pursuits at getting Adrienne to agree to go out with him. During lunch, Adrienne found an empty table outside to sit at by herself until she would later be accompanied by her brother and whomever would want to sit with him. She sat down on the bench and looked at her tray. When she looked up, she immediately saw Will sitting in front of her, causing her to jump a little in her skin.

"You scared me," she laughed.

"People say I'm a scary guy," he chuckled, "So now that we're friends, it's not bad if I sit with you, right?"

"Not at all," she said.

"Good," he said, leaning closer to her, "Cause I'd do anything to be your good side..."

She could feel her cheeks turning bright red, so she ducked her head back down to look at her food. That's when she felt a warmth next to her immediately.

"Will!" Scott said, "Look everyone, it’s Will from math class. The one who blatantly throws notes at my sister’s head."

"I guess I’m not really that subtle..." Will responded.

"No, not really," Stiles said sternly.

There was silence and Adrienne didn't look up from her food. She then finally had the courage to lift her head up, only to see that Will was gone.

"What's the matter with you?" Adrienne snapped, hitting Scott’s arm, which almost felt like nothing to him. 

"Me?" he scoffed, "What's the matter with you? I was trying to be helpful."

"We're just friends," she snapped, "That’s it for now."

The rest of their lunch was eaten in silence.

When the end of the school day came around, Adrienne and Kira had their last class together, so they decided to go to Kira's locker and get the rest of her stuff, then they'd both leave together to drop Adrienne off at her house. As Adrienne was leaning against the lockers beside hers in conversation, she looked over and saw Will leaving his last class as well.

"Adrienne?" Kira asked, snapping her fingers in front of her face, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah..." Adrienne said, softly shaking her head.

"You seem a little... spooked," she said, noticing Will staring at her from the other end of the hallway, "Oh god, what did that idiot do?"

"What?" Adrienne asked.

"Scott," she explained, "He's been acting weird today and now you and Will are making goo-goo eyes at each other from opposite ends of the hall."

Adrienne turned her head, "Would it be terrible if I talked to him for a minute?"

"Not at all," she said, "I mean, you’re practically giving Scott what he wants and also giving into the idea that you’re going to have to tell Will everything about your life eventually, but sure. Go for it."

Adrienne smiled at her, then jogged down the hallway towards Will, whose smile was growing bigger and bigger the closer she got to him.

"Hey..." she sighed.

"Hi..." he smiled.

"I am SO sorry about lunch today. Scott's just trying to be a brother."

"It's okay, I get it. If I had a sister that I just figured out I had, I'd be the same way."

"So we're good?"

"Not exactly," he grinned, "You see, my heart is still a little busted up from you friend-zoning me earlier today."

She giggled, "I apologize for that as well."

"Oh well," he shrugged, "You can make it up to me over dinner."

"What?" she asked, blinking several times.

"See you on Friday," he said smoothly, "I'll pick you up at 8."

He pushed some of her hair out of her face, then patted her shoulder as he walked past her. Will was sweet and warm and welcoming. He obviously had a heart beneath all of that muscle and good looks, otherwise, he wouldn't be so sweet to her. She felt a little breathless, like her heart would explode from beating so fast. Adrienne had never been asked out by a boy before in her entire life, and it felt wonderful.


	7. The Ghost

Once Adrienne told Kira about her date with Will on Friday night, she dragged her to the nearest mall and raided every single clothing store until Adrienne's wardrobe was completely re-stocked with clothes that weren't beat up jeans and old t-shirts. There were all kinds of skirts, tights, leggings, dark jeans, blouses, and basically anything you would find in a teenaged girl's wardrobe.

Kira had picked out a very special outfit for Adrienne's date. It was a dark blue peplum blouse with a black bow pinned to the back. That special top was accompanied by white jeans that were Adrienne's choice. She had spent the hours since she got home taking countless showers and trying to do her hair the way she was told. When she finally had her hair curled and her makeup on, she took a photo on her phone and sent it quickly to Lydia. Her phone beeped only a few seconds later:

**L: Put on the leather pants. It'll be sexier.**

That seemed to make Adrienne's heart stop all together. It started to make her more nervous now for this date more than ever. Was that what all guys expected? For their dates to be sexy? She fell onto her bed and groaned.

**A: I can't do this**

**L: Stop doubting yourself. You can totally do this.**

**A: …**

**L: Just do it! Everyone always regrets the chances they didn’t take.**

She threw her phone onto her pillow and got up, pumping up her hair in the mirror once more, then taking another big deep breath. The time was 7:56. Only 4 minutes left.

Adrienne threw on the leather pants with great difficulty, then headed down the stairs in her new high-heeled ankle boots. There, she saw Scott sitting on the couch, texting on his phone.

"Hey," she said casually.

He turned around, then readjusted himself as he saw the vision in the hall, "What on earth are you wearing?" he laughed.

"Lydia took me shopping," she shrugged.

"Yeah. I see that," he chuckled and sat back on the couch comfortably, "Are you expecting me to take you somewhere tonight?"

The time read 7:58.

"No," she said, "but I was just wondering... did you have any... expectations... when you first took Kira out?"

He shook his head, "No not really. I just wanted her to be herself."

"Oh," she nodded, staring outside of the door, "Do you think all guys think that way about dates?"

Scott pressed his eyebrows together and turned around again.

"Why?" he asked suspiciously.

8:00.

A motorcycle came driving up to the sidewalk with a great roaring sound.

"No reason," she said, grabbing her new small black purse and ran out of the door, “Bye!”

"Adrienne!" he yelled.

Adrienne turned around, her hair flying past her face.

"Be careful," he nodded.

"I know," she responded, then got into Will's motorcycle.

The date was more casual than Adrienne's outfit. Will insisted on getting fast food and eating outside so that way there wasn't any pressure on her, since he kind of figured this was her first date EVER. They sat and talked about their classes, which teachers they liked and disliked, which subjects they were better at that others. They both did fairly well in English class. Will just enjoyed watching her eat and laugh and smile as the conversations only went upward. They took a drive after they ate. Adrienne had been driven down the same road, but both times they were just in a car with either Stiles or Scott. This time, on Will's bike, it was so much more thrilling. She could feel the wind in her face as it pushed back her hair. She clung onto him for dear life and it felt so comforting to put her trust in him. It was sensational. The evening ended at about 9:30, a reasonable hour for Melissa and Agent McCall's sake. He parked on the sidewalk just in front of the house.

"I had a lot of fun tonight," she said, getting off of the bike.

"I'm glad," he smiled, getting off the bike, then leaning up against it, "Maybe we could do this again sometime?"

Adrienne didn't think about Will wanting another date. Another date was a different story entirely to her. She just survived her first date and now she had to think about a second date and going through the same stress all over again the next week. He could see the distress in her eyes and sighed.

"I said maybe," he corrected himself.

She nodded, "Can we just... think about tonight?"

He agreed with her, but then she started to move closer to him, placing her hands on his chest and sliding them up to his shoulders. She didn't know what else to do other than kiss him, so she did. It surprised him that she would let him kiss her on their first date. Will had assumed that Adrienne was under so much pressure, so he wouldn't even lay a finger on her unless she wanted him to, and apparently she did.

Adrienne let go of the kiss, blushing from embarrassment at what she had just done.

"That was nice," he assured her.

"Good..." she whispered, pushing her hair back behind her ear, "I'll uh... see you on Monday."

"Goodnight," he said as he watched her walk up the pathway to her house and close the door.

"I don't really see a problem here," Malia said to Adrienne as lunch came rolling around on a warm Monday afternoon. Adrienne had been stressing out to Malia and Kira all day about her date with Will over the weekend. It made her nervous, but excited and hesitant all at the same time.

"The problem is..." Adrienne said, her voice growing to a whisper, "Stiles..."

"Stiles?" Kira said loudly.

Adrienne franticly hushed her, "Yes... Stiles."

"Why would he be a problem?" Kira asked

"I don't know... but he just is... he's in my life and I can't-."

"Ah," Malia nodded with a grin, "I know exactly what this is about."

"You do?" Adrienne's eyes widened.

"You like Stiles,” Malia said bluntly.

"No!" she protested, "I mean, I like Will but..."

"Please don't say you love Stiles," Malia groaned

"God no... I just... he's there, isn't he?" Adrienne said sheepishly.

"So you can't go out with Will because... Stiles... exists?" Kira asked.

"Exactly,” Adrienne nodded.

"Okay," Kira said, turning herself to face Adrienne, "I know that Stiles may seem like the perfect guy for you, but odds are, he's not. The perfect guy for you actually has feelings for you, and I'm sorry, but I don't think he sees anything happening between you two."

"Because of Lydia," Malia said, causing Adrienne to look stunned at her, “Believe me, I liked Stiles for a minute too, but I got over it. He’s got this thing for Lydia that just won’t go away.”

“Thanks,” Adrienne groaned, throwing her head on the table, “Now I know there’s absolutely no way I could ever be with Stiles.”

"Lydia is a big factor in that, yes," Kira agreed, "but even so, you need to pick the guy who is there for you right now. Don't pick the guy you think you have to wait for. Be sure."

Adrienne nodded again, "I just need to do one thing first..."

The school bell rang and Adrienne was walking down the hall again with her backpack on her right shoulder as she headed towards her history class. Luckily, she saw Stiles at his locker on the way there, so she stopped on her path and headed towards him.

"Stiles," she called.

He glanced up at her and smiled, "Hey! Adrienne! What's up?"

"Nothing much," she said sweetly, "I'm actually on my way to history right now."

"Oh hey!" he said, "I heard you went out with Will on Friday."

"Who told you that-?"

"Scott," they both said and laughed.

"I should've known," she giggled.

"Did you have fun?" Stiles asked eagerly.

"Yeah... it was decent.”

“That’s good,” he encouraged, “I’m really happy for you. You’ve been here long enough, it was only a matter of time before one of these guys snatched you up.”

The second bell rang.

"I'll see you in English," she said quietly, then pushed past him as she went to English class.

Some part of Stiles couldn't help but look back and notice her walking down the hallway with her curls bouncing against her back and the leather pants she was wearing with a teal blouse. His best friend's sister looked different in a really good way, and he wanted to punch himself in the face for noticing.


	8. Chick Flicks

Adrienne said yes, and she and Will were together for what seemed like forever, even if it was just a few weeks. She counted the days to the exact moment when she approached him at the end of the school day and brought him in for a kiss. The clock said 3:29. Three weeks exactly had passed on a sunny Monday afternoon. Every Friday and Saturday since that blissful day, Adrienne and Will went on a date to do whatever they wanted. Fridays were Will's turn, Saturdays were Adrienne's turn.

On a Friday evening, just as usual, Adrienne came down the stairs in a fabulous outfit accompanied by leather pants at exactly 7:58 in the evening. The one thing everyone, especially in the McCall house, couldn’t help but notice was house gorgeous Adrienne was starting to become. Sure, she had this angelic quality about her before, but she was coming into her own beauty now and it was intoxicating to watch. The first thing she noticed when she picked up her little black purse was Scott, sulking on the couch staring down at his cell phone.

"Mom! Dad!" she called, "I'm leaving!"

"Don't wait up!" Scott called, "She'll be home early!"

Adrienne looked at the glass of water on the coffee table in front of him. He seemed distracted enough where this might actually work. She motioned her hand towards the glass and began to command it with her body to rise up, and so it did. Thankfully, Scott did not notice. She only lifted up a little ball of water so his phone wouldn't get totally ruined. She placed it over his head and squeezed her hand, causing the water to spill on him, only getting him slightly damp.

"Hey!" he protested, "I thought you weren't supposed to use your water powers at night."

"And I thought big brothers were supposed to be supportive," she sassed.

"Just go on your stupid date," he growled.

"Fine," she scoffed, "I will."

The clock still said 7:59 and there was no sign of Will outside just yet. So, Adrienne ran over to the couch and flung herself onto his brother's lap with a thud.

"What are you doing?" Scott asked, annoyed.

"I'm just enjoying your company," she smiled, "Is that so bad?"

"You don't seem to enjoy my company these days. Rather, you are QUITE taken by Will's company."

"Quite?" she giggled, "Since when did you become so proper."

They laughed at each other and Adrienne sat up on her legs, facing towards him, "We need to spend more time together... Ooh! I have an idea."

"Immortal last words," he whined.

"No, I'm serious!" she said, bouncing on the couch, "What if we went on a double date? Will and I with you and Kira! Wouldn't that be so much fun?"

"A double date with you and your boyfriend?" he rolled his eyes, "Yeah, no thanks."

"Oh come on!" she begged, "You were the one who said to go for it with Will and now I am and it’s great! Besides, Kira told me you guys haven't been out in forever. Please?"

"No way," he refused, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"Please..." she flashed her big brown eyes and folded her hands while sticking out her lower lip.

The very next evening, Scott was dreading the upcoming double date as he was driving a very excited Adrienne who could hardly keep still. At least Kira would be there and the evening would be SO terrible. He just didn’t want to have to see his sister doing all of that gross couple stuff with Will like that. He encouraged it, it didn’t mean he wanted a front row seat to the whole thing. He honestly would be more content taking a nap.

The McCall siblings arrived at the movie theatre only to see Kira and Will waiting in front of the building, waving to them as they walked out of the car. Adrienne ran to Kira first.

"Hi!" she cheered, hugging her new best friend tightly, "I'm so glad you guys could do this."

"Me too," she rejoiced, "I've been dying to get this one off the couch for weeks."

"What about me?" Will said, opening his arms.

"Hey," she said sweetly, walking into his arms and kissing him ever so gently on the lips.

"You look amazing," he said, scanning her up and down.

"Thanks," she said, biting her lip, "You're looking pretty hot yourself."

"Hey," Scott said as he approached his girlfriend, kissing her once on the cheek then on her lips very quickly.

"Look at you," Kira said proudly with her hand on his chest, "All presentable and everything, and not a Stiles in sight."

He laughed and shook his head.

"Shall we go in?" Will said, leading Adrienne in with his hand on her back.

They were watching an action flick. It seemed like the only thing they could agree on seeing without the guys falling asleep. One of the reasons why Scott loved Kira so much was because she could sit through an action movie without complaining. Most girlfriends always complain. Will was grateful that Adrienne was open to new things all the time, so an action movie didn't make her cringe or make her beg to see that new romantic comedy about forbidden love.

During the movie, Will didn't even want to touch Adrienne the whole time in fear that her twin brother would feel uncomfortable and pull some kind of move to get in between them. He knew that Adrienne loved her brother, so his approval was the first thing he was looking for. Meanwhile, Kira rested against Scott's shoulder with his arm firmly around her. It made Adrienne slightly jealous that he seemed so possessive with his girlfriend while Will wouldn't even hold her hand.

"Is it okay if I get another drink?" Adrienne whispered to Will.

"Sure thing," he said, "Will you get me some Swedish fish?"

"For you?" she asked, leaning in closer to him, "Anything."

She kissed his lips before getting out of her aisle seat and leaving the theatre as casually as she could. Adrienne headed to the concessions counter.

"Can I get a bottle of water and some Swedish fish?" she asked, holding out her money to the cashier.

Now she waited for her snacks. She heard absolutely nothing around her except for the soft popping of the popcorn in the glass box. Then she heard a voice behind her. It was a commanding voice, but a sweet voice at the same time.

"Two please," the voice said.

Adrienne was curious so she turned around.

"Dad, I got it," Stiles said, pulling out his wallet to pay for both him and his dad to see the same movie she was seeing.

She froze almost immediately, feeling every single bone in her body tense up, like her breath was completely gone and her heart stopped beating. It was like there was a depressing song playing in the background of the depressing moment. She didn't know why he made her feel this way, but he did, and she swore to get over him as quickly as possible, even if there was absolutely nothing between them.

The cashier pushed the water bottle and the swedish fish onto the counter and Adrienne took them as quickly as possible and tried to hide herself as she walked towards the theatre.

"Adrienne?" Stiles voice called.

"Shit," she muttered to herself, then turned around, "Hey! What are you guys doing here?"

"Father son night out," the Sheriff said, patting Stiles's back.

"It's good to see you Sheriff," Adrienne said, hugging him for a brief moment.

"It's good to see you too, kid," he chuckled, "How's mom and dad?"

"Mom's good, and dad... well," she shrugged, "he's getting there."

"So I’ve heard," Sheriff chuckled.

"I see you're headed to the same movie as we are," Stiles said, motioning towards the theatre.

"Yeah..." she nodded, "I'm here with Scott and Kira... a-and Will."

Stiles's eyes grew wide and it looked as though he had just made a big swallow.

"Y-You're with Will... that's right..." he choked out, "That's really cool."

"Yeah it is," she nodded awkwardly, "I really should be getting him his candy, though. I don’t wanna miss too much of the movie."

"You crazy lovebirds have fun," Sheriff cheered.

"Thanks Sheriff," she smiled and headed into the movie theatre, not knowing if Stiles and the Sheriff were close behind or not. She didn't care, or at least she didn't want to.

Adrienne returned back to her seat, the depressing music still playing in her head as she watched about 3 different guys get shot down within the same second. She turned her head only slightly and saw Stiles and the Sheriff taking a seat on the aisle, right in direct view of her. She turned forward, then looked at Will, who seemed thoroughly pleased with the film in front of him.

"Your candy," she said, holding the bag out to him.

He smiled at her and took the bag, "You are so good to me."

She kissed his cheek and took his arm, resting her head on his shoulder the way Kira was with Scott. Every few minutes, she would adjust her position so she was getting closer and closer to Will, waiting for some kind of reaction out of him, but nothing happened.

"Hey..." she whispered, tugging at his arm, "Are you okay?"

He looked at her and smiled, "Yeah... of course I am. Why?"

She paused and looked from the screen to behind her at Stiles, who was clearly either looking at her or in her direction.

"Kiss me," she said plainly.

"What?"

"Kiss me... please."

"Why?" he asked cautiously, looking over at Scott.

She placed her fingers on his chin and moved his head to face her, "He's not there..." she whispered, "It's just us... I promise..."

He smiled back at her and placed his hand on her neck, pulling her in for a sweet and innocent kiss. That was all that could happen in the movie theatre, but that was all she needed for now. Adrienne just needed proof that Will was really in this for her and nothing else. Then she was wondering if Stiles was watching, but quickly erased that thought from her mind as she remembered that feeling of Will's lips on hers. There were no words, it was just a beautiful kiss. The simplicity pleased her.

After the movie, both Adrienne and Will were fully satisfied with how the night went.

"I actually enjoyed myself," Kira said, holding Scott's hand as they walked out, "Thank you for not letting me see a cheesy romantic comedy."

"Any time," he said proudly.

Adrienne was holding Will's hand, but she wasn't as clingy as Kira and Scott were. There were some boundaries that were crossed once people were in a relationship as long as they were. They just innocently held hands, the way young couples did when they were fresh in their relationship.

"Oh hey..." Will said, pointing with Adrienne's hand over towards two people whom she was already familiar with, "Is that Stiles?"

"And Sheriff too," Scott smiled and then waved his free hand in the air, "Hey Sheriff! Stiles!"

They turned around and cheered at the sight of each other.

"Hey Scott," Stiles greeted casually.

"What are you doing here, man?" Scott asked.

"Dad and I were out for some bonding time," he said, patting his dad's back, "But I ran into Adrienne earlier when she was getting snacks, she said you guys were out on a double date."

"Oh did she?" Will asked, looking over at her, "She didn't tell me you guys were here."

Adrienne blushed a little, "Well... you were so invested in your movie, I wasn't going to interrupt you..."

"Yeah," he scoffed, then nudged her playfully, "Sure you weren't."

Stiles scratched his nose, looking at the ground to ignore the interaction happening in front of him.

"Did you guys enjoy the movie?" the Sheriff asked.

"Yeah, we did," Adrienne said, grabbing onto Will's arm again and leaning on his shoulder, looking directly at Stiles who still didn't look up at them, "What about you, Stiles? Did you like it?"

He looked up at them only to feel a strange stirring in his stomach, "Yeah..." he said casually, "It was great. Lot's of fighting. Lot's of blood."

"Nothing too unfamiliar to us," Kira laughed, causing a laughter around the group followed by a big sigh.

"Well we should be heading home," the Sheriff said, "but hey, great seeing you guys."

"You too," Adrienne waved, still holding onto Will for dear life.

"Do you want me to drive you home?" he asked.

"That would be perfect," she smiled at him lovingly, "Scott? Can I please?"

"Why not," he shrugged.

"More alone time for me," Kira bragged.

"That's what I was hoping for," Adrienne said with a subtle wink, then pulled Will over back to his motorcycle.

The evening wasn't a complete fail in the end. Adrienne only wanted to feel empowered and strong in that moment of weakness and intensity. Somehow, she felt accomplished and unaccomplished at the same exact time. Every time Will kissed her lips when they parted ways, she began to feel more powerful, and even more accomplished than she did at the movies. Will made her happy, and that was all that mattered.


	9. Demons

Ever since that night at the movies, Stiles had been on edge about everything. He suddenly felt much more alert to everything around him, like something might burst into flames at any second if he wasn't careful. It started affecting him in school, making him more insecure and self-conscious. This was Stiles Stilinski, the guy who never gave a crap about looking stupid or silly, now walking around the hallway fixing his t-shirt and jacket to make sure they looked nice every time a girl walked down the hallway. It was freaking him out, especially every time he saw Adrienne and Will kiss in the hallways. It wasn't like they were sticking each other's tongues down each other's throats all the time, but even the smallest contact of lips set him on edge for some kind of reason which he could not explain.

"Hey man," Scott said, touching Stiles on the shoulder, causing him to jump up, "Take it easy. What's up with you? Did you get any sleep?"

"Yeah I did," he nodded, "Do you see any red beneath my eyes? I got plenty of sleep."

"Okay..." Scott said awkwardly, "Then why are you so jumpy today?"

"I'm just... I'm being cautious," he explained, "I just got a bad feeling… you know what I mean?"

"Sort of?" he answered.

“I don’t know, I just… I look at your sister and… I feel like something bad is gonna happen.”

"You think something's wrong with Adrienne," Scott repeated, "What can I do about it?"

"I don't know, talk to her... or something."

"Alright," Scott said, patting Stiles on the shoulder, "If you think something's wrong, I'll just ask her. Okay?"

"Thanks man," Stiles nodded.

Scott had to admit, something weird was going on with Stiles, but Adrienne seemed perfectly fine. She was happier since the movies. But girls sometimes cover up their feelings to seem stronger than they actually are. He had seen enough chick-flicks with Kira to know that little bit of knowledge. It wasn't going to cause any harm just by asking. So, after school, Scott knocked on Adrienne's door. It was Friday and she had a curling iron in one hand with a hairspray can in the other hand.

"Adrienne?" he called.

"Come in," she said, spraying a piece of her hair on the iron, causing Scott to dramatically cough.

"Jesus!" he cried, "What the fuck is that stuff?"

"It's just hairspray," she said angrily, "No need to be such a guy about it."

"I'm sorry," he said, squinting as he walked into her room and sat on the bed, "I just wanted to ask you something real quick."

"Anything," she said, still looking in the mirror as she released the curl and it fell gracefully at her side.

"It's about Will," he said, "and before you get all defensive, I just wanted to know how things are going with him... you know... are you okay with dating him?"

"Yeah," she scoffed, as if it was a dumb question to ask, "Why wouldn't I be? If I wasn't, I wouldn't be going out with him tonight."

"Cool," he replied shaking his leg.

Adrienne noticed the nervous expression on his face as he basically shook the entire bed. She put the curling iron down and unplugged it.

"What do you think...?" she asked quietly.

"Honestly?" he asked, "I don't know how I feel about you dating him..."

Adrienne was disappointed to hear that, almost shattered that her brother didn't exactly approve of whom she was dating at the moment, especially considering he was the one who pushed her towards him in the first place.

"Really?" she asked.

"I mean, not specifically him," he said, "I just don't want you dating anybody right now."

"Why?" she asked again, her voice getting shakier as she backed away from him, "Is something bad happening?"

"Well... no," he said, standing up, "I don't know, maybe."

"You know something," she said immediately. She had never let her emotions gets this high this fast before, and it felt dangerous. Thanks to Will, the danger was attracting her closer to it, "You know something about Will or about me, don't you? What are you hiding?"

"Nothing," he said, holding his hands up in fear, "Stiles was just getting this weird feeling-."

"Stiles..." she breathed, "Good god! Why can't I be free of him!?"

Scott shook his head "What are you talking about?"

"It's-."

Adrienne angrily wanted to throw something. Of course Stiles was getting involved with her love life, making her feel like a hazard so she’d leave Will alone. That’s when she heard the knock on the door.

"Who’s that?” Adrienne said, tossing her hair brush onto the vanity table.

“Scott!” Stiles’s voice called from outside the house.

Adrienne’s eyes grew wide. “Why is here here.” It sounded less like a question and more like a threat as she stood up and got out of her chair.

“Adrienne!" Scott called after her, “Stop! Don’t hurt him!”

"Stiles doesn't mean anything to me!” she spat back at him, “Don't you get it!?"

She marched down the stairs and threw the door open, pushing Stiles off of the porch on onto the grass. Scott came running after her.

"Hey Adrienne, listen to me," Stiles said, getting up and trying to reach for her hand.

"Don’t touch me!" she demanded, stepping back to him, "Or so help me god..."

"Adrienne, you need to calm down," he said assuringly.

That's when things took a quick turn for the worst. Adrienne had promised her dad and Stiles not to give in to the dark side within her, but it had been so long since she had visited that side of her, and the darkness welcomed her as an old friend. It was attracted to her just as much as she was attracted to it. It seemed like the perfect thing that she needed to ease herself. Stiles saw her brown eyes turn into a light blue and immediately hurled himself as far away from her as possible.

Adrienne lifted her arms up and water came rising from the ground in small droplets one at a time until there seemed to be enough to fill an entire body of water. When she released her arms, the water came crashing down and it surrounded Stiles, picking him up high above her as she watched with pleasantry and satisfaction from her latest victim.

"Adrienne," Scott said, grabbing on to her shoulders and talking into her ear, "Adrienne, that is your friend. It doesn’t seem like it now, but he’s loyal to you. He’s helped you. He only wants what’s best for you."

"Stiles Stilinski is nothing to me," Adrienne voice sounded like a thousand demons speaking at once in a chorus, "Stiles Stilinski must pay for his wrongdoings."

"Maybe he does," Scott assured her, "but now is not the time for that."

Nothing was changing and the water began to rise higher and higher up on Stiles. It seemed like her plan was to drown him in mid air and leave him for dead.

Scott jumped in front of her and hugged her as tightly as he could, causing her arms to fall at her sides and wrap around him in comfort and warmth. Adrienne never had an anchor to stop her before. When the Naiad took over, she usually waited until the spirit was tired and left her body, but now she had someone to help stop it from making the biggest mistake of her young life. Tears fell down her face as she watched the water disappear and Stiles fall right onto the ground.

Scott looked over his shoulder as his stumbling friend, "You gotta get out of here, Stiles. Go!”

Stiles agreed and scrambled his way to his jeep, driving away as fast as he could. Scott quickly took Arielle inside the house, wrapping a warm blanket around her as they sat on the couch. She was shaking, not quite shivering, but trembling.

"Shh," he calmed, "It's okay. You're okay."

She threw her face into her twin brother’s shoulder. His arms went instinctively around her, rubbing her back gently.

"I almost killed him," she cried into his shoulder, "Scott, I almost killed him."

"But you didn't," he hushed, "He's alive and you're okay.”

She looked up at him with the tears still flowing down her face, "I don't want to be that person ever again...I lost control… I can’t keep it together..."

"Hey," he said sharply, "Look at me, Adrienne... you are not a bad person… you just had a moment. One moment out of thousands of good moments.” She continued to cry. “One moment isn’t bad. It just means you felt too much… and I never want you to be ashamed of what you feel…”

Adrienne had never felt so wanted or comforted. A brother was someone who protects and worries and cares, or at least that’s what she always thought of when she imagined what her own family would be like. Granted, this moment wasn’t exactly the picture perfect moment of a loving and happy family, but it was the family for her. This was the brother for her. That night, she dreamt about Stiles's face as a person she hardly recognized tried to kill him right in front of her. That's why she could never feel as happy as she wanted to be in that moment, because she knew that deep down inside, she was a monster who tried to kill someone who was so needed, and so perfect.


	10. Laser Lights and Smoke

Adrienne returned home before Melissa and Agent McCall could wake up. After Scott made sure Stiles got home okay, he told his parents that Adrienne was already asleep in bed. She certainly felt well rested either way. Of course, they hadn't done anything more than sleep in each other's arms, but it was just as sweet and left Adrienne wondering what an eventful night leading to a morning like that would be like.

"Adrienne! Scott!" Melissa called, "Come downstairs please!"

She rose out of bed in her pajamas and came down the stairs followed by Scott. What they saw at the door finally made them both agree on what really made them happy.

"Isaac!" They both cheered.

Isaac was standing there, fully intact, with a smile on his face with his hands bashfully in his pocket. Scott ran past Adrienne straight to him and hugged him very tightly.

"Woah!" Isaac coughed, "It's good to see you too, man."

"Finally, a face to the name," Adrienne said with a smile.

"I couldn't agree more," Isaac said, opening his arms to her, "It's so good to actually see your face instead of exchanging emails."

Adrienne ran into Isaac's arms and felt even more safe now with two brothers living under the same roof as her.

"How was San Francisco?" Scott asked.

"It was unbelievable," he said breathlessly with his arm around Adrienne, "The people were so awesome, the food was amazing."

"But there's no place like home, mind you," Melissa smiled, "Welcome home, Isaac."

"Thanks," he sighed happily.

Adrienne told Will all about the great surprise she woke up to that morning. All throughout the school day, she would keep rambling on and on about Isaac and how excited she was to see him for the first time.

"And it turns out we both like blueberry pancakes," she giggled, "but he takes WAY more blueberries than me. I'm not really sure if that's a wolf thing or a boy thing."

"It could just as easily be both," Will laughed.

"Oh! But It was so great to be reunited like that," she sighed, leaning up against the lockers, "Scott was so happy, mom was so happy, I was so happy... it was amazing."

"I'll bet," he said shyly, looking down at the ground, "Hey… I, uh, made it on the lacrosse team.”

“You did?” Adrienne asked with hopeful eyes, “Oh my god! Will, that’s amazing!”

“Thank you,” he sighed contently, “I’m throwing this this big party tonight to celebrate and I was sort of wondering if you'd be okay with being my date..."

"Hmm," she pondered, "I'm not really fond of thousands of people rubbing up against each other while they make out and drink... but if you're there, then I'm there."

"Perfect," he sighed with relief, "I'd hate to be the only guy there not making out with somebody."

She tilted her head and bit her lip slightly, "You don't have to wait until the party to do that," she said in a low voice before kissing him with a newfound passion within her.

"Hey..." he cautioned, pushing her back a little bit, "We have plenty of time to do all of that... I'll even save a room for us... if you'd like."

Adrienne was a little bit caught off guard by that question. Suddenly, all of this became so serious to her. Was he seriously just asking her if it was okay if they had sex at the party? Adrienne had never done anything like that before in her entire life. She hadn't even had a boyfriend before, let alone had sex.

"Umm... I'll get back to you on that," she said nervously.

The school bell rang and Will kissed her on the cheek before walking down the other end of the hallway. The idea of the evening ahead of her made her more shaky than ever before. Thankfully, Lydia came walking down the hall past her.

"Lydia!" she called, pulling her jacket as she thudded against the locker.

"Whoa!" she coughed, "What the hell. Are you okay?"

"I really need your help," she begged, her voice getting faster as she spoke, "You see things are going really great with Will and I but I'm also really kind of on the fence about him because he's having the big party and I don't usually like parties where people get drunk and have sex, but then I was thinking what the ladder would be like after I spent the night on the couch in his arms, which felt really good, but I just don't know what I'm going to do now because I don't know if he's gonna get mad at me if I don't sleep with him tonight-."

"Wow, slow down there, sister," Lydia said, blinking several times, "Start over. What's the matter, exactly?"

"I might have sex with Will tonight," she blurted out.

"Oh!" she gasped, her eyes widening, "Wow! That's a really big step. Are you sure you're ready for this?"

"That's the thing," Adrienne complained, "I don't know if I'm ready. Shouldn’t this kind of thing be saved for, like, someone special?"

"Not always, but if that’s the way you wanna go… do you love him?" Lydia asked sincerely.

"Love?" she asked, "I don't even know what love feels like, let alone knowing when I'm in it."

"Then... maybe you should find out," she suggested.

Adrienne took her advice very seriously because she knew that she was right. What she said made actual sense to her. Two people who share that kind of experience really should be madly and forever in love, otherwise, it ruins the whole idea of that special connection with someone. Adrienne at least felt strongly enough for Will to want to do this with him, but maybe they just needed to be together a little longer before she can really tell if they're in love. That's what she was going to tell Will. It was hard enough for her to tell him that he was going to get rejected, but his response would show what kind of guy he really is, which would be huge eye-opener, either way, for her in the end.

Halfway through the day, she approached Will in the hallway.

"Hey," she sighed.

"Hey beautiful," he said sweetly, kissing her forehead, and she leaned into him a little bit, "How are you?"

"I've been..." she wanted to say she had been thinking, but there was no need to be so morbid, "I've been okay."

"Yeah?" he asked, rubbing his hands on her shoulders, "So have I."

"That's good," she nodded.

"You never really gave me that answer about that room," he said, sliding his hand from her shoulder to take her hand in his, interlacing their fingers together.

She chuckled and looked at the ground and the way they were standing. He was leaning up against the wall and she was in front of him. Their feet were placed one by one beside each other and their hands were laced together like heart strings.

"Will..." she sighed, looking up into his eyes with sincerity and fright. She paused to take a breath and started to look around her because she felt nervous about what he was going to do. That's when she saw the figure of the ghost that kept haunting her, standing on the other side of the hallway and looking at her dead in the eye. She would never be free of Stiles; she knew that now, but there was at least one way to get him out of her mind, even for a little while. Adrienne rose her lips to Will's ear, "You better have that room saved just for you and I..."

When she backed her head away from him, he was biting his lip and grinning, "Consider it done."

"Perfect," she said in a low voice, then kissed him long and hard on the lips, "See you at 8..."

She walked away from him with a lot more confidence on her shoulders, and he couldn't help but watch her. That was his girlfriend, he had a right watch her hips sway more as she walked and her legs flex as she took a step. Will kept wondering how on earth a girl like that could be so goddamn perfect, but he didn't argue with it. He was just grateful for her either way.

Judging by the way Adrienne was dressed, anyone off the street would have guessed that she was one of those special girls who came straight from a Las Vegas casino. Her dress was tight, short, and black with two thin straps going over her shoulders. Her heels were bright red and her makeup looked as though she stepped out of a magazine cover. That's how she snuck out of the house at 7:50 in the evening. Scott didn't know that she was leaving, and she wasn't going to tell him.

"Going somewhere?" a guy's voice asked from behind her, which made her jump and gasp a little bit. She turned around to see Isaac standing on the staircase with his arms crossed.

"No..." she said awkwardly, "Are you?"

"Actually yeah," he nodded, stalking down the stairs, "I heard about this really cool party that's happening tonight, but I'm not sure I'll go. You know, it's hosted by that cool guy who just got on the lacrosse team. Some kind of celebration thing… Will, if I’m not mistaken."

"Pretty cool," she answered.

"And how weird is it that it happens to be hosted by your boyfriend?" his voice became very serious, and she knew she was busted.

"Please, Isaac," she begged, "Don't tell mom, dad, or Scott about this. I beg you."

"I wasn't going to tell them," he shrugged, "I was just trying to get you to let me come with."

"What?" she asked, "You're not going to tattle."

"Why would I do that?" he said with a squint, "Then that would make me the bad brother. If I’m gonna compete with your twin, I’ve gotta be the cool brother."

"Well you're almost there, I promise."

"Good. So I'm going with you as your chaperone. Your parents and Scott will never know. I'll just text them and say we're out getting ice cream or something."

"Really?" she smiled, "That's really cool of you, Isaac."

"See?" he bragged, "I am the cool brother!"

"Shh!" she hushed, "Just get your car keys."

The two of them laughed together as Isaac grabbed his car keys from the bowl and Adrienne grabbed her little black purse. They didn't talk about Will at all, in fact, Isaac could care less that she was dating Will. He asked her about other things, like what’s going on in the world of social media and how little they actually know about life outside of Beacon Hills. They talked about San Francisco, they complained about Arizona. They bickered and laughed and sighed and messed with each other all the way to Will’s house.

They arrived at the party, which was clearly indicated by the hundreds of lights and fog coming from every opening of the house, not to mention there were balloons tied to their mailbox. Adrienne and Isaac parted ways as soon as they went into the house. The first thing she saw was a room of people dancing and jumping in sync to the loud music playing, then the fog machines that came from every single room.

"Adrienne!" Will called, coming down from the upstairs.

"Hey cutie," she called back.

"Wow," he said, placing his hands on her hips once he approached her, "You look absolutely-."

"Gorgeous, stunning, beautiful?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.

He brought his lips down to her ear and whispered very clearly, "Sexy..."

She grinned at hearing the tone of his voice combined with the feeling of his breath on her ear. It sent shivers up and down her arms.

"Shall we dance?" she whispered back.

"Anything for you, dear one," he said, holding out his hand to her, then leading her towards the dance floor.

This was Adrienne's first house party, and it was a lot different than she thought it would be. Normally house parties had music slightly in the background while everyone had red or blue solo cups in their hands. There would be groups of people all around excluding other people in their conversations when somebody walked by. This was different. There was more dancing and more loud music combined with laser lights and fog. He sure knew how to put a party together, that's for sure. The music had Adrienne and Will closer than ever, with their bodies pressed up against each other as they kissed each other with hunger and passion while swaying to the beat. His hands started getting a little playful with her body, feeling up and down her waist and touching the sides of her ass. She knew it was time, at that point. She couldn't stay downstairs any longer.

"So..." she said, pressing her forehead against his, "How about that room..."

He smiled, showing all of his perfect white teeth, then took her hand and lead her up the stairs to the first door that he saw, leading to a plain blue painted room with one queen sized bed and a few furnishings, but nothing else. The second she walked in, Will followed her and shut the door, not hesitating to grab her hand and spin her around before kissing her passionately. With each passing second, things got more and more intense just in that one kiss that she couldn't keep quiet and let out just the tiniest sound of delight. That gave him his cue to start moving his hands towards that little zipper in the back of her dress. He began to pull it down all the way to her hips where it stopped. He picked her up so her legs wrapped around his waist, then he threw her onto the bed, making her laugh a little bit. The approving smile only made him more anxious for her.

As Will pressed his body on top of Adrienne's, she moved her hands down to his sides to feel the toned muscles underneath. Finally, she took off his shirt and tossed it to the side, looking at the perfect body that existed underneath all this time. He kissed her again, moving his hips with hers as she made another sound out from her lips. His hands travelled to the straps on her shoulder, and he began to move one down her arm and off. He made his way to the second strap when he suddenly stopped and gasped.

"What?" she asked, touching his cheek, "What's wrong?"

"Get down!" Will shouted, pushing Adrienne off the bed and shielding her with his arms.

One loud banging sound followed and there was a hole in the wall just above the bed. The window was completely shattered and glass fell all over the floor. That was quickly followed by another shot in the same place as Adrienne screamed, grabbing onto her head tightly. Will was protectively holding her in his arms, watching as the smoke from the bullets rose into the thin air.


	11. Do Not Cross

The police department showed up at  Will's house and arrested all minors who were under the influence of alcohol. Thankfully, that wasn't Isaac, Will, or Adrienne. There were about 3 police cars with their flashing lights parked outside of the house. Will and Adrienne were still inside that bedroom, standing against the wall nervously. Will had put his shirt back on and Adrienne's dress was all zipped up and put together. They waited there for some kind of confirmation of safety.

The door opened and she squeezed her eyes shut tightly and leaned into Will's side.

"Adrienne?" the Sheriff asked, flashing his flashlight onto them.

"Sheriff!" she gasped, and ran to hug him.

"Are you okay?" he asked, "Were either of you hurt?"

"We're both fine," Will sighed.

"Come on," the Sheriff said to Adrienne, "Let's get you downstairs, okay?"

She nodded and walked with him down the stairs followed by Will.

"You don't understand!" a guy's voice was yelling from outside the police tape in the yard, "I have to go in there! My sister is in there!"

"Scott!" she called after him.

"Adrienne!" he shouted back, trying to push past the two officers holding him back.

"Let him through!" the Sheriff called to the officers.

Scott ducked under the tape and ran towards the house. Adrienne ran out of the door and met Scott in the yard, immediately jumping into his safe embrace once again. Isaac came up behind them, looking around them to make sure the area was safe.

"Oh my god, I thought something terrible had happened to you," Scott said in relief.

"I'm okay," she assured him.

“She’s lucky Will got her out of the way in time,” Isaac added.

Scott looked into the house to see Will standing there, watching over Adrienne like she was some kind of precious diamond he rescued and had returned to its rightful owner. Scott nodded to him and he nodded back.

"Come on," Scott said, rubbing her back gently, "Let's just go home, okay?"

"Yeah," she nodded, "Home sounds good."

Scott didn't let her say goodbye to Will, but instead kept his arm protectively around her as he and Isaac led her to his car parked just outside the police tape. He made sure she was securely in her seat before he ran around the car and got in himself. They didn't say anything on the ride home. All Adrienne knew was coming was an 'I told you so' speech about how he warned her to be careful from the start. She didn't need the lecture. The car pulled up in front of the McCall house. Isaac elected to be the one to tell Melissa what happened, stepping out of the car first to rehash the whole thing to her.

"Thank god!" she cried when Adrienne and Scott both finally came out of the car, "Thank god you're both okay!"

"I'm fine, mom," she said, hugging her mother to ease her pain.

"We both are," he added, hugging the both of them by wrapping his long arms around them.

"Do you need anything, sweetheart?" Melissa asked, placing her hands on either side of her cheeks, "Maybe some pancakes or something sweet? Maybe ice cream?"

"No thank you," she shook her head, "Sleep just sounds really good right now."

"Of course," Melissa smiled and kissed her forehead, "Isaac, make sure she gets there safely."

He nodded to her and led Adrienne up the stairs. Moments later, Melissa was in bed as well, but Scott was kept up, staring at the wall of the living room and wondering what could have happened back there. Isaac came down the stairs.

"She won't sleep yet, but at least she's in bed and comfortable," he said, "I also checked out her windows, nothing is going to harm her as of right now."

"It's just so weird," Scott replied, "Who would want to hurt Adrienne?"

"For all we know, the gunman could have been after Will," Isaac suggested.

"Then wouldn't something like this have happened already?" Scott asked, "I'm almost positive they were after Adrienne."

"But why?" Isaac sat down on the couch next to Scott.

"Well... something did happen the other night. Adrienne was mad at Stiles and I and she kinda went Naiad crazy on us. She turned into this possessed spirit thing and nearly killed Stiles."

"Remind me not to get on her bad side..."

"I know, right?" Scott chuckled, "but she was doing that outside AND in public where anyone could have seen her..."

"Are you suggesting that's what the gunman is after?"

"Could be. Adrienne is a supernatural unlike any of us. She has powers that are new to Beacon Hills. Someone could be after that kind of power."

After a few more minutes of creating pointless theories, they had concluded that whoever was behind this attack was after Adrienne and her magic. So, Scott went to tell her the news and he knocked ever so gently on her bedroom door, but found himself walking in anyway only to find Adrienne resting in her bed with her eyes open and headphones in her ears.

"Hey..." he said softly.

Adrienne sat up a little bit and took the headphones out, "Hi..."

"How are you feeling?" he asked, sitting down on the bed.

"I've been better," she shrugged, "How else am I supposed to feel after someone shot a gun in my direction?"

"That's actually what I came to talk to you about... Isaac and I have been talking and we think that someone is-."

"After my powers," she finished, "I figured. If someone was after Will, they would have taken care of that a long time ago. Which means they were after me, and no one else would be after me unless they wanted something from me. Not to mention I kind of displayed my powers to the world the other night..."

"So what are you gonna do?" Scott asked.

"I don't know," she shrugged, "Hide, isolate myself, not go out on weekends as often-."

"You know that's not what I'm talking about," Scott said, touching her hand, "I know this may be a hard thing to think about, but being with Will while this is happening is only going to put him in danger."

"I know," she said quietly, "but I just don't want to lose him... I just got him..."

"Well it's not my decision," he sighed, standing up and stretching, "the choice is really all yours… you knew from the start that something like this would happen. Well, maybe not something quite like this, but still."

“Yeah…” she nodded.

“Whatever you wanna do,” he assured her, “I’ll stand by you…. goodnight.”

"Night," she said, staring at her bedsheets and tangling her headphones in her hands.

Scott was right. There was a choice that had to be made. What made Adrienne think really hard about was whether or not she cared about Will enough to keep him from getting in any more danger. The answer was clearly yes, but she didn't want to lose him because he had taken such good care of her. He was only a human after all. Humans have lives full of ambition and hope unlike that of the supernatural. Who was she to snuff out that hope just by being with someone like her? Adrienne had to decide, and fast, before something really bad would happen to anyone else in town.

The sun was shining and yet no warmth came from it. Adrienne didn't feel anything for the entire school day the next day. She was tired and she was far too worried to be thinking about anything else except what happened the previous evening. At least she got to sleep for a few hours on the decision that she had to make. What really altered her decision was a dream that she had. Adrienne was in bed with Will and they were happy, as if they weren't interrupted at all, but when he got up to put his shirt back on, the shots were fired and he was dead on the floor, causing a loud scream to leave her lips.

That's when Adrienne knew that she had to do something about Will if she wanted to keep him safe from harm. She sent him a note in history class telling him to meet her on the bench outside the building after school, and so he did. He showed up looking as handsome as ever, but he knew nothing good would follow this conversation.

"How are you holding up?" Will asked.

"Okay," she said plainly, "I don't really know how else to say it."

"I'm not expecting you to pour your heart out or anything," he said, taking her hand in his, "I just hope we get a second chance at a great night."

Images of the dream flashed in her mind and it made her take her hand away from Will's and her eyes started watering.

"What's wrong?" Will asked, trying to wipe a tear away from her cheek.

"What's wrong is that I've been going out of my mind all day long," she whimpered, "I don't know what's going to happen to me or anyone else around me for a while, and that scares the hell out of me."

"You don't have to be afraid," Will assured her.

"Will, don't you understand?" she cried, "Being with me is just far too dangerous."

He sat back on the bench and sighed, staring into the empty air in front of him. “I don’t think I understand…”

“I don’t expect you to. Just know that anyone who’s close to me gets hurt…” 

Will sighed heavily, "So you're breaking up with me?" he asked.

Adrienne nodded and wiped a tear off her cheek.

He nodded understandingly, but also angrily at the same time, "This is because of Stiles..."

"What?" Adrienne asked confusingly, "What are you talking about?"

"Don't play dumb with me, Adrienne," he hissed, "Everything you've ever done with me is because you saw the way he looked at you. I know that whenever you touched me or kissed me or even told me you wanted have to sex with me, you looked right at him and saw how badly he wants you."

"That's not true," she lied. Of course it was true. That night she almost killed him nearly tore her in half.

"I bet you can't look me in the eye and tell me that there is nothing going on between the two of you."

Adrienne sniffed a few times, "This isn't about Stiles. This is about me not dating anyone at all to keep the people around me safe from harm's way."

"Bullshit," he said under his breath, “What could possibly be so dangerous? So someone tried to shoot you. People move forward and you should too.”

"What can I do to make you believe me?" she begged, “To make you see that what I’m doing is honestly what’s best for you?”

"I don't think anything you say will make me believe you," he argued, "Adrienne, I see the way he looks at you. I saw the anger and jealousy in his eyes. He wants you and I know deep down inside you, you want him too."

"That has nothing to do with romantic feelings," Adrienne argued back, "He's just watching over me because I'm his best friend's sister. The only reason he looks at me the way he does is because he feels the same way Scott does. Scott has that same look."

"No he doesn’t. I'm a guy, I know when a guy looks a girl he wants."

"Please, Will, don't think this is about Stiles. I'm protecting you. I'm keeping you safe-."

"Forget it, Adrienne," he spat, getting up and leaving her on the bench alone in the cold. She was crying into her hands now, knowing she wasn’t alone.

"How much did you hear?" Adrienne asked Scott, who was now standing beside the bench.

"Enough," he sighed.

Scott felt bad for Adrienne. He pushed them together and had to tell her the hard truth; you pick and chose the people you let in with care. Adrienne learned that lesson now. Will was her first kiss, her first boyfriend, and almost her first love. There was no easy way to get over that. Scott knew this pain far too well.


	12. I Should Go

A week had passed by and the temperatures were rising as the spring time was getting closer and closer. Spring was always Adrienne's favorite time of year because of the new flowers blooming and the perfect spring time warmth that was accompanied by a soft breeze. California was the place to be in a season like spring. Although Will still gave her menacing glares in the hallways and in history class, she still didn't let it get in the way of her excitement and anticipation for spring time.

No dangers had come her way since the party happened, and breaking up with Will started looking more and more like a good thing, rather than a bad thing. He wasn't her ghost the way Stiles was, which was the best thing she could have asked her. The real problem was that Will was right in some ways. Stiles did look at her in a way she was unfamiliar with; that's why it scared her so much.

Nothing scared her more than when she was up in her room all alone with the music playing on the stereo. She was playing "Say Something" by A Great Big World, the song that she had imagined in her mind when she was in the movies that night. "Say Something" turned into "Echo" by Jason Walker, the song she listened to at night when she was especially sad about her and Will's break up. "Echo" continued to play as she folded her new laundry on her bed. When Adrienne turned around to put her clothes away, she saw her own personal ghost standing right in front of her, which made her drop her laundry on the floor.

"Shit!" she hissed, "Stiles... what the hell are you doing here? You scared the living daylights out of me!"

"Sorry! Sorry," Stiles said, bending down to pick of the pile of clothes for her, "I didn't mean to scare you."

"Sure you didn't," she glared, putting the clothes back on the bed, "What are you doing here anyway Stilinski?"

"I was just checking up on you, you know," he said casually.

"Does my brother know you're here?" Adrienne asked, turning around and raising an eyebrow at him.

"No... not exactly," he said, scratching his nose, then behind his ear.

"Do my parents know? Isaac?" she asked again, crossing her arms.

"Not really," he shook his head, "and let's keep it that way, shall we?"

She rolled her eyes and returned to her laundry, "What do you want?"

"Nothing really," he said, "I just thought you might want some company since... you know... everything happened with Will and all. I kinda came by just to say... you know, that I'm s-sorry about what happened..."

This wasn't happening, Adrienne thought. Here he was, Stiles Stilinski, talking about her break up with Will and pouring salt into her open wound. She placed her hands on her bed firmly and began to hold back her tears. How could he just bring that up again? and him of all people? All this time it seemed like he was the only thing standing in the way of her and Will's happiness. Now he was here and the track was changing on her iPod. "I Should Go" by Levi Kreis. Fucking perfect, she thought, listening to the lyrics about a guy who wanted company with a special someone but knowing that he shouldn't be there.

Adrienne turned to face Stiles, and she couldn't help but just fall into his arms and cry, because no one else was there to rub her back and calm her tears.

"Hey..." he said softly, "Hey now... don't cry over him, okay...?"

That didn't stop the tears from continuing to fall down her face onto his sweet smelling jacket and shirt. Everything about this was wrong; so  _ very _ wrong. The break up wasn't about Stiles and she had spent countless hours trying to convince herself that.

"You deserve so much better than him," he whispered into her hair.

That's what really did it to her. She began to back away from him, because love wasn't something she could afford to have. She had just broken up with Will because she was afraid for his life, and now crying in Stiles's arms just encouraged him even more. She couldn't lead him on any more than he lead her on that night. She wasn't going to be that kind of person, not this time.

"But I don't..." she whispered back, "I don't deserve anyone right now..."

"Don't say that-."

"You don't get it," she said, turning her back to him, "I don't expect you to."

"Come on, Adrienne... any guy would be dumb not to want you, okay? So don't tell yourself that you don't deserve anyone's love or... affection..."

"Stop," she begged, stepping a step to the side away from him.

"Why?" he asked.

"Well how about reason number 1, I just had an upsetting break up with a guy I really liked," she argued, "Reason number 2, my life is in danger, in case your dad didn't tell you. I almost died. Somebody out there wants me dead and adding an unnecessary love in my life is just going to get you hurt-."

"Me?" he asked, his eyes glistening with hope.

"W-Will," she coughed, "It's going to get Will- or ANYONE hurt. I just can't do this... I can't do this with anyone because I hurt people. Death is basically at my doorstep and anyone who tries to beat him there is going to get hurt. I almost KILLED you Stiles! Do you remember none of that!?"

Stiles took a deep breath and made a bold move to place his hands on her shoulders. He looked into her eyes, her beautiful brown eyes, and appreciated how sweet and warm they looked against her tan skin and brown perfect hair.

"I should have taken you when I had the chance..." he whispered.

"It's too late for that..." she whispered back, but then her voice grew into a stern and argumentative tone, "You had the chance to have me before any of this happened. I don't think you understand, Stiles. I wanted you..." that gave him all the confidence in the world as he stepped closer to her and placed his forehead against hers, "I wanted you so bad..."

She could feel something setting off inside of her, like a fire of some sort that made her want to do things she'd regret instantly.

"Please, Adrienne," he begged, readjusting himself to place his hand on the back of her head underneath all of her hair, "I'm sorry I let you down, but I'm not gonna do that again..."

He was her temptation, more than Will ever was. Will was the bad boy, but Stiles was a whole different category. It was the way his touch made her want him and the way he whispered as his breath touched her skin. Her lips were so close to his. If she just puckered her lips by a millimeter, they would kiss and she would be goner. She wanted to so badly, but when the thought of reality set in her mind, she ducked her head out of the way and left his embrace.

He sighed in response and put his hands back in his pockets, "Yeah... I should probably go..."

"Yeah," she agreed, "I think you really should."

She turned away and started doing her laundry once again. It was possible, she thought, that Stiles wasn't going to come back after this. They were so close to doing what she had been thinking of doing since that night at the lake, and he made her insides jump and dance like fireworks. How many times is she going to get a chance to have someone like that practically begging her for her love.

"Stiles!" she called, but then she suddenly felt something tug at her lungs, like they were imploding and twisting and burning.

Adrienne fell flat on the floor, gasping for air as her throat and her insides started to feel rough and dry. She was coughing intensely as she reached her hand out of her door. Stiles heard her fall and ran back into her room, seeing Adrienne on the ground. It was like a punch to the gut, but he'd deal with that later. Stiles ran to the nearest bathroom and picked up a plastic cup, feeding the water to her until she gasped and began to breathe once more.

"Oh my god, are you okay?" he asked.

"Yes," she said, breathing heavily, "Yes, I'm good now."

"Here," he said, offering to help stand her up.

Scott heard all of the ruckus and came into the room, watching Adrienne catch her breath.

"What happened in here?" Scott asked worriedly.

"I don't know..." Stiles said, still holding onto Adrienne's shoulders as if she might fall.

"Adrienne..." Scott said quietly approaching her, "What happened to you?"

"I really think someone's after me now..." she nodded, "Someone just tried to steal all of the water from my body."


	13. Safe

Agent McCall had felt entirely useless now that there were things happening to Adrienne that he couldn't figure out. He had started to open countless greek mythology books and began to read, but nothing in there could explain how someone could deprive Adrienne of water in her body. Nothing about it made sense. That didn't mean that something couldn't be done about it. Agent McCall was always relentless in keeping his daughter safe, and he wasn't about to stop now.

"We need to do something," Melissa insisted, "ANYTHING. The more we just sit around and do nothing, the worse the situation gets."

"I agree," Agent McCall confirmed, "That's why I think we need to send her away for a little bit."

"Dad..." Adrienne protested.

"Not to Arizona," he reassured her, "There's a safe house specifically for the Beacon Hills Police Force. It's to keep our Witness Protection clients safe."

"But it hasn't been used in years," Stiles said, coming into the dining room with another glass of water for Adrienne to take.

"Thank you..." she mouthed to him.

"You know it?" Melissa asked.

"Yeah," Stiles nodded, taking a seat at the table in between Isaac and Adrienne, "My dad told me about it once or twice, and I've seen it. I know where it is."

"Where?" Scott asked.

"Just on the outskirts of town," Stiles said, "It's deep in the woods."

"The only way to navigate there is to have instructions from the police force," Agent McCall said.

"So you're suggesting that Adrienne hides there," Isaac repeated, "but for how long? I've known her for less time than all of you and I know she's not gonna want to stay there for a long time."

"He's got a point," Adrienne nodded.

"As long as we need her to be there," Agent McCall ordered, "We'll send a guardian with her, if we have to."

"What about Stiles?" Scott asked.

"What?!" Stiles and Adrienne asked, one in frustration and the other in disbelief and excitement.

"Yeah," Scott nodded, "He knows where the safe house is and he probably knows his way around it and how to stay hidden, right?"

"Y-Yes," he coughed, "I totally know how to do all of that stuff..."

"Plus, nobody trusts Stiles more than Adrienne, right?" Scott asked.

"Yeah sure," she said nonchalantly.

"Then it's settled," Agent McCall said, "Stiles, you and Adrienne leave in the morning for the cabin. You have the night."

"Delightful," Adrienne said sarcastically.

Adrienne wasn't upset to be going to the cabin because she didn't like him, she was upset to go to the cabin with him because she did like him, and that was dangerous. Ever since that night at the party, Adrienne had strayed from danger. Danger had betrayed her and turned from a good thing into a bad thing. Of course Scott trusted his best friend to keep his sister safe for a while, he had no idea that his best friend and his sister almost kissed moments before anything bad happened. Now Stiles was using Scott's trust to get closer to Adrienne.

In the morning, Adrienne brought down her large suitcase down the stairs and said her goodbyes to her parents for the time being, then she was in Stiles's car and they drove off towards the woods. This time, as they drove down the long winding roads, she was looking for anything but conversation, which wasn't enough for Stiles.

"You excited?" he asked, looking over at her and not getting a response from her, so he tried again, "You know there's a lake right next to the cabin. That's good, right?" Still no response, "Do you think you packed enough?" Only silence followed. Eventually he just gave up and continued to drive down the road. Adrienne didn't want to talk to him and he couldn't blame her.

An hour passed when they pulled up to the middle of nowhere. He took the keys out of the ignition.

"What is this?" Adrienne asked.

"Well the rest is about a minute's walk," Stiles said, "If we could drive into the cabin, that'd be a little too obvious, don't you think?"

Adrienne glared at him, then unbuckled her seat belt, "Yeah I guess."

She went to the back of the Jeep and pulled out her suitcase from the back seat.

"Do you need help with-."

"No."

Stiles lead the way on a path with no trail through a bunch of trees until they reached a small brown cabin made completely from wood. It was only one story and it had a green roof to blend in with the rest of the trees. The whole place was rather wide, however, and the door wasn't even a door, it was a screen. Inside was a fireplace directly in front and a little to the left, which was surrounded by two chairs and a couch. There was a bed directly beside the doorway.

"This one's your room," Stiles said, opening the screen door, "I'm gonna sleep on the cot over here, but don't worry, I'll put a curtain up so you can have your privacy."

"Whatever," she said, opening the door and throwing her suitcase inside.

"The kitchen's over here," Stiles said, walking to the other side of the small room to show the kitchen with a little stove, sink, washer, and fridge. The cot was next to the kitchen table. It seemed as though Stiles had significantly less room than Adrienne did.

"It should be full by now," he said, hitting the fridge, "and the bathrooms are on the other side of your bed in that corner," he pointed to the door beside the fireplace, "There's a shower in there too."

"Cool," Adrienne said, walking back over towards her bed and sitting down on it.

"So you're not gonna say any more than 3 syllables to me?" Stiles asked angrily.

"I'd prefer to," she said and then flashed a sassy frown.

"Okay that's it," Stiles said, marching towards her, "I'm tired of you ignoring me. I'm giving up a lot back home just to be here with you to keep you safe. You are in no place to be a bitch about it, okay? I won't accept that here."

"You won't accept that?" she argued.

"Look at that! 5 syllables, we're making some progress here."

Stiles walked away towards the dock that was directly outside of the screen door. Adrienne followed him angrily.

"What makes you think you can boss me around?" she asked.

"Your brother trusts me to take care of you here," Stiles snapped, "and goddammit that's what I'll do if I fucking die trying, okay!?"

"You didn't HAVE to come here. If you're so fucking miserable, why don't you just go back to Beacon Hills and forget about me and all of this."

"You know why I can't do that..."

"Why?" she asked, backing him up onto the dock that was moving underneath the motion of the water.

"You know why."

"Why Stiles?"

"Adrienne..."

"WHY!?"

"Because I fucking lo-."

Stiles couldn't walk any further back and fell straight into the water behind him with a loud shout.

"Stiles!" Adrienne yelled, jumping into the water after him.

He was falling down towards the bottom of the 7 foot lake and Adrienne grabbed his shirt, pulling him back up to the dock.

"Are you okay?" she asked as he coughed.

Stiles was shaking his head several times to get the water off his face, and then he grinned menacingly once he saw what she did.

"What?" she asked.

"You saved my life, didn't you?" he smiled.

"Did not."

"If you didn't get me, I would have drowned. Admit it, Adrienne, you like me!"

"Do not!"

"Do too!"

Adrienne didn't know what else to do besides splash a hand full of water into his face, causing him to completely fall back into the water and swim around for a little. The water was too dark to see into it from the surface, but then she felt a tug on her leg and she went under, seeing Stiles with a smile on his face.

"You are a goof," she said.

Stiles couldn't talk underwater, so he just playfully pushed her and she laughed.

They played in the water together for several minutes like two little kids in the pool. They even played Marco-Polo for a little while as if they were still 7 years old. That was the way Adrienne liked to be with Stiles. There was no romantic pressure or danger around her in the middle of nowhere. There was just her friendship, and that made her smile.

Scott had brought Isaac and Kira out to the cabin to check up on how Adrienne and Stiles were doing with the new move. Curiously enough, neither of them were to be found inside the cabin. They weren't in any of the rooms, not even the bathrooms. They both suddenly came in laughing and soaking wet.

"Hey guys," Adrienne said, "What are you guys doing here so soon?"

"I think the more important question is," Isaac interjected, "what were you guys up to?"

"Up to?" Stiles asked, "We weren't up to anything."

"Yeah, he fell in the water," Adrienne laughed.

"In my defense, she may have pushed me," he defended himself.

"I did not push you!" she laughed.

"You kind of did."

"Did not!"

"Oh, so you don't call that menacing walk towards me pushing?"

"That wasn't a push... I lead you into the water."

"I think I like pushed better."

"Whatever, Stilinski. I saved your life."

"Ah! So you admit it you pushed me?"

"Guys!" Scott shouted and they both looked at him.

"Yeah, what's up?" Adrienne asked as though that previous interaction didn’t just happen at all.

"We're here just to fill you guys in on what's been going on with the research," Scott said.

"And?" Stiles asked.

"We haven't found anything yet," Kira answered, "We saw this one really good book about nymphs in Greece, but it had several pages ripped out of it."

"So now we gotta find who ripped the pages," Isaac finished.

"But whoever did this can't be a normal human," Scott added.

"Well the only supernatural person who wants me dead is Will," Adrienne muttered.

"Are you sure you don't know anyone else who is like you?" Scott asked.

"No..." Adrienne replied, "Not personally. I don't know any other nymphs, especially not in California OR Arizona."

"Well, either way," Kira interrupted, "This is going to take a lot longer than we thought."

"How long?" Stiles asked.

"About 4 weeks," Isaac answered.

"4 weeks!?" Adrienne and Stiles shouted.

"You mean to tell me that I'll be stuck in the middle of nowhere with Stiles!?" Adrienne complained to Scott.

"I know it's weird," Scott insisted, "but I'll come visit you every Saturday if you want me to."

"That'd be heavenly," Adrienne sighed.

"Come on, guys," Kira said, "We promised your dad we'd have lunch with him."

Adrienne turned to Isaac and gave him a hug, followed by Scott, whose hug was much longer than Isaac's.

"Hang in there," he whispered.

"I will..."

Scott, Isaac, and Kira all left through the path in the woods and Stiles and Adrienne now realized they had all the time in the world to do absolutely nothing. They mainly didn't speak to each other for the rest of the day, so when night fell, Stiles decided to sit on his bed and think about all kinds of random stuff that he could come up with in his head. Moments later, he went from thinking about the stars to Adrienne's eyes, how they were dark and deep like the night sky. He looked over his shoulder to the curtain that hung nicely and sturdily. The light was turned on on her side of the cabin, so he could see the shadow of her sitting there on her bed.

He saw her perfect figure stand up and stretch for a little bit, then she walked over to one side of the room and pulled out a shirt. Stiles knew that if he kept watching this happen in front of him, then he'd be a goner for sure. However, he just kept on watching, letting the temptation get to him. She threw her baggy shirt over her head to reveal her even more perfect and natural frame as she stretched her arms up to put the rest of her clothes on. Stiles knew that she wouldn't want him watching her like that.

Stiles pushed the curtain back and walked into her space of the cabin.

"What do you want?" she asked.

He let the curtain fall back its place and saw her dressed in baggy sweatpants and a tight tank-top. He was still stunned from what he saw, so he basically stalked inside the space, scaring Adrienne just a little bit. It didn't make sense what he was doing in there until he walked over to the lamp that was giving him a perfect view of her. He touched the lamp and then turned it off.

"You should really keep this off," he said in a deep voice.

Adrienne was right beside him now and he didn't know how she got like that, but they were so close and all the lights were off, so all they could see was what the moon allowed them to see.

"Don't kiss me," she whispered.

"I wasn't going to," Stiles whispered back.

He then touched her shoulder lightly before he headed back behind the curtain to his side of the room. Adrienne fell on the bed and she couldn't help but think why he wouldn't want to kiss her now, since they were all alone in the woods with no one else around. It was weird. What was especially weird was how she tried to box him out of her life for so long only to want him to touch her. It was a longing she couldn't control, and the fact that she was losing control was scratching at her like sand paper.


	14. The Risk

1 week  and Stiles hadn't been more proud of himself in his entire life. For a whole 7 days he managed not to tempt himself by watching Adrienne change or thinking about the way her hair looks when she gets out of the shower or the lake. Occasionally he thought of those things when there was absolutely nothing else to think about, but Adrienne seemed happier when they were just bonding as friends, so that's exactly what he continued to do. He worked effortlessly to show her that he was just her friend, and nothing else.

The more Stiles insisted that they were friends, the more Adrienne resisted the temptation. 2 weeks was a long time to live with somebody that attractive and not do anything about it. She was proud of herself for choosing his life over her own pleasures, but it was also killing her at the same time.

Around lunchtime, Adrienne was waiting on the porch for Stiles to bring out two plates of food for the both of them. Eventually he did so.

"One turkey with cheddar for you, madam," he said, placing the plate in her hands.

"Thank you," she said softly, taking the plate from his hand.

As both their hands were on the plate, they looked up at each other. It was the way that Adrienne looked at him that made him want to shoot himself in the foot or take an eternity's worth of cold showers to get him to stop thinking about his best friend's sister the way that he did. Adrienne quickly took the plate from him and they sat down and ate their lunch together. In a way, this trip was like a little vacation for Adrienne, one that she didn't mind at all.

"Hey..." she said after they finished their lunch, "I wanna go for a swim later."

"Okay," Stiles nodded, "but you know I'm going to have to watch you. Uh... to be safe and all that."

"I don't see why you wouldn't," she grinned.

Moments later, Adrienne was in her one-piece bathing suit and jumped in the water off the dock. Stiles followed behind her with a smile on his face as he watched her swim around being so happy in the water the way she usually would. Her smile was so perfect, he thought. She dipped her head up from under the water and waved to him. He waved back at her.

"Having fun?" he asked.

"Of course-."

Suddenly her head ducked back under the water before she could finish talking. That didn't look like a good sign to Stiles, especially since the water was moving from where she was before. Then he saw a hand reach up and come back down, causing Stiles to completely lose it.

"Adrienne!" he shouted and threw off his shirt before diving in after her.

He could see as well underwater as she could. All he saw was green and unclear water. It scared him even more when he looked around in all different directions and there was no sign of her. He saw a hand reach out to her and he grabbed it, touching the bottom of the lake and pushing off to pull her away from whatever had a hold of her. Adrienne came up and out of the water onto the surface, holding onto Stiles tightly for security.

"What the hell was that?" Stiles gasped.

"I don't know," she cried, cowering into his side.

He noticed the shaking and distressed girl in his arms and lead her back towards the latter to the dock. He pushed her up onto it, then sat beside her, wrapping his arms around her with a towel to dry her off.

"You saved me..." she said quietly.

He looked at her and saw her beautiful eyes on her innocent face.

"Yeah," he sighed, "I guess I did."

Stiles was brave and strong and protective. He was her hero now after she had tried so hard to save his life, what she really needed was for him to save her life instead. Adrienne didn't have to be the strong one all the time, sometimes other people can help too. That's when Stiles made the biggest mistake and planted a kiss on her lips unlike any kiss Adrienne had felt.

His lips were wet, which didn't make her complain at all, but his kiss was also different, a good different. He was gentle, but strong at the same time, and he moved with her lips so he could fit her mold perfectly. But when he let go of the kiss, Adrienne's face was still blank with either confusion or doubt, and he stroked a piece of her wet hair away from her face.

"God I love you..." he whispered.

That was the last thing that Adrienne was expecting to hear was those words leave his mouth. She was in too deep. HE was in too deep, as far as she was concerned. She was reckless and irresponsible and let her feelings get in the way of her better judgement. Like it or not, someone was just trying to kill Adrienne, which reminded her why she couldn't be with Stiles, because if he really cared about her, then he could possibly lose her, and she didn't want to see him cry or be upset or anything like that. It was torture to think about Stiles hurt in any kind of way. Everything was so jumbled and confusing inside her head that it soon became too much for her to handle.

Adrienne got up and ran back inside the cabin, slamming the screen door behind her and running into the bathroom, slamming that door behind her as well.

Stiles had to admit that getting his feelings out in the open like that was like letting in sunshine after a cold and frosty winter, feelings the snow uncover all of the beautiful things that spring had to offer. However, having Adrienne run away the second he let his feelings out in the open was like a punch in the gut. The last thing he wanted to see was Adrienne walking away from him. He wasn't going to tolerate it for one more second, so he walked back from the dock into the cabin. Adrienne was standing near the bathroom door.

"Don't you hide from me Adrienne McCall," he demanded, "Goddammit, we are going to talk about what's going on here."

"Nothing's going on here," she insisted.

"EVERYTHING is going on here," he said, exaggerating the connection between the two of them with his arms.

"God, why do you have to be so persistent?" she asked.

"Me? Persistent?" he laughed, "I've been working my ass off to not notice how fucking perfect you are and I've been working especially hard to not do anything about it."

"Do you think this is easy for me?"

"YES! I think this is EXACTLY what you want! You WANT me to suffer from this. You want to see my face when we're so close to having a moment and you reject me. You feed off how I feel when I want you so bad but I can't have you. You can't even deny it because you know it's true."

"I told you why we can't do this. You know very well what's happening here and yet you still go ahead and victimize yourself!"

"Me!? I'm victimizing myself?" he scoffed, "That is RICH coming from you. Little miss needs protection 24/7 like you're a fucking china doll. You are not a fucking china doll, you are a woman. You are a strong, confident, proud woman who needs to take control of her life every once in a fucking while."

"You mean I need to stop believing what Scott says, that me being in a relationship hurts the one I'm with... you just want me to take charge of my life so I'll finally go out with you."

"You know what? Maybe I do want that. Maybe I want you so fucking badly that I'm willing to go to the ends of the earth to see you smile. Is that such a bad thing? Isn't that supposed to be a good thing?"

"Not when we're in the situation that we're in," she sighed, "I'm sorry, but it's just too much for me."

"Adrienne..." he said, grabbing her shoulders so she faced him, "Look at me. Look in my eyes and tell me right now that you're not devastated that we can't be together and that you won't do anything you can to make sure that you CAN have me."

"Stiles-."

"And let's not forget that you wanted me before Will even showed up. It was a choice and you chose him-."

"You chose Lydia before I even had the chance to choose!" she argued, "That KILLED me! I was just getting introduced to the idea of love and you took it away from me! So excuse me if I'm not so pleased with the idea of trusting you again."

"How can you say no to this?" he asked, taking her hands in his, "How can you say no the way your heart beats faster when you touch me or the way we talk together for hours and hours without ever stopping."

"Because then I'll be the selfish one!" she admitted, "If I choose you to make me happy, then I risk your life by using you as my human shield. I'd much rather see you alive and standing in front of me than loving you. Because loving you is selfish."

"Love isn't selfish," Stiles said, taking her face in his hands, "Love is beautiful and selfless and wonderful to be in. I've been in it hopelessly for far too long to fall in it again and have you not give me the time of day."

"Stiles... you need to back away from me..."

He took his hands off of her cheeks.

"Fine..." he sighed, "but promise me one thing... you'll kiss me once before I die."

"I can't promise that," she shook her head, "I don't think I'll ever kiss you ever again."

That truly made his heart sink, and so he went behind the curtain to his small side of the room and lay in his bed until night came and moon rose. It was night time already and Adrienne and Stiles had hours to sit on the conversation they had just had. It soon came to Stiles that they were fighting over loving each other. They both clearly loved each other, but there were ridiculous things holding them back. So he vowed that nothing would hold him back on this night.

Stiles got up and pushed the curtain away enough that it wouldn't fall back into place. He saw Adrienne still standing with her back facing him, but she knew he was there. He had made enough sounds already with his walking and the curtain for her recognize that he was there. Adrienne figured out while they were in a cabin in the woods where no one could find them, a little risk was worth taking. So Stiles approached her and pushed her hair back away from her neck, leaving him plenty of room to place small tempting kisses up and down her neck and collarbone. It was something that she had never experienced before, the feeling of his smooth lips grazing so gently over her skin.

"I love you too..." she whispered back.

His lips left her skin and she turned around looking into both of his eyes. Enough was enough. Stiles didn't let her get away this time, so he wrapped his arms around her body and kissed her as hard as he could and she responded this time. Her lips moved with his in what seemed like two puzzle pieces finding each other after all this time. At first they were just enjoying the moment of their first real reciprocal kiss that seemed too perfect next to the roaring fire that reflected off their faces. Their kisses then slowed as he moved his hands up and down her body and her hands just reaching underneath his t-shirt, feeling the skin underneath there, causing goosebumps up and down his arms. He moved back down to her neck, causing her to feel that same feeling that she felt when she was resisting him a few weeks ago.

"Wait, Stiles," she said breathlessly.

He was breathing as heavily as her when he spoke, "Yes?"

"I've never..." she took in another deep breath, "I've never done this before..."

"Never?" he asked to her neck as his voice grew to a whisper, "I'll let you in on a secret... neither have I..." She moaned at the feeling of his breath against her neck again, "Maybe we could learn together."

She nodded in response and that gave him permission to pick her up by her waist and place her gently on the bed with him on top of her. This wasn't like the experience with Will at all. This was like the experience that Kira had described. She was hopelessly in love with Stiles at this point. She loved his laugh, his sense of humor, his personality, she loved everything about him and everything seemed so perfect between them. She could feel that tension rising between their two bodies and that tension ached, making her beg for more.

And so they learned from each other, moving with each other as they studied each other's habits, the moans they would make that were perfectly in sync. Thank god they kept condoms in the safe house supply, he thought to himself in the midst of the moment with Adrienne. They were under the bed covers together, connecting with each other in a way no one else could ever connect with them. They were both each other's first times, which made the moment so much better than either of them could have ever imagined.

So this was what it felt like, Adrienne thought. She was glad it was Stiles she was sharing this moment with. After all that built of anger, aggression, and sexual desire, it came out perfectly for that specific night. It began to rain outside, which made it even more romantic.

As the night drew to a close and they fell apart in the most beautiful exhaustion, Stiles was still on top of Adrienne, looking at her eyes, then kissed her lips softly.

"You realize I'm never letting you go after this," he said, completely out of breath.

"Good..." she whispered, running her fingers through the hair on the back of his head.

He fell beside her and Adrienne moved to her side, resting her hand on his chest as she closed her eyes, taking in all of that used energy between them and relishing in the moment of falling asleep in his arms. It was definitely worth the risk.


	15. A Crazy Wonderful Dream

It wasn't a dream. Everything was real. Adrienne was afraid that when she woke up, she'd be somewhere in Phoenix wishing for a real family to come and ease her broken heart, but instead her heart was more mended than it could have ever been. But even better, her heart found it's perfect match, and his arms were wrapped around her when she woke up to the sight of him. She sat up a little bit and held the bed sheet to her chest, looking around at the scene around her. It was a romantic little cabin with the perfect fireplace and a gorgeous view of the lake. She hadn't realized how beautiful it was until now.

"Morning," Stiles's weary voice said as his hand touched her bare back.

Adrienne leaned back on her arm and placed her hand on his collar bone, admiring every perfect inch of him, "Good morning."

"How'd you sleep?" he asked.

"Perfectly," she said, smiling down at him, “You?”

"Great," he grinned, "I have never slept so good in my entire life."

She laughed and leaned down to kiss him, hovering a little bit closer over him.

"I love you so much," he whispered.

Adrienne smiled and kissed him again, then whispered against his lips, "I'd be crazy not to love you."

In the midst of this perfect morning, of course the doubt snuck into her mind.

"Isn't this a little crazy?" she asked quietly.

"I'll let you in on another one of my special secrets," he said, tracing small patterns on her bare skin on her upper back, "Most things in life are crazy... but not everything is crazy, otherwise there'd be no such thing as it."

She widened her eyes and her mouth fell open as she giggled.

"What?" he asked.

"I've never heard you say anything so deep," she admired, resting her chin on his chest.

He smiled and began to play with her hair with his index finger, throwing it in front of her face which made her laugh.

"Stiles..." she said plainly.

"No, don't ruin it," he said sitting up and placing a finger to her lips.

She grabbed his hand and pulled it away, "You don't even know what I'm gonna say."

"Something along the lines of 'Stiles... this can't go on anymore because I don't wanna see you get hurt'," he mocked, mimicking her tossing her hair over her shoulder flirtatiously.

She gasped, "I don't do that!"

"Yes you do," he smiled, kissing her forehead.

"Well what I was GOING to say was that Scott is going to kill us."

This stopped Stiles all together. He sat back and leaned against the headboard of the bed and took a very deep sigh. The one thing that she decided to complain about the morning after a glorious night together was the one thing that actually made sense. Stiles had really crossed a line here with his best friend in the whole entire world. Although, Scott WAS the center of Stiles's universe until Adrienne stepped into his life.

"Stiles..." she said again, rubbing his arm softly.

"You're right," he mumbled, "Scott's never gonna trust me ever again..."

"So what are you thinking?" She pried, "Tell me..."

He looked at her and saw the places where her sweat had tried and her hair was messed up with tiny bits of it falling in her face. He saw how beautiful her skin looked against the sheets and how natural her face was in the morning.

"God you're so perfect..." he muttered, grazing her neck with his fingers, "I don't wanna know what's going to happen after the next few weeks, because I'm afraid that I might lose you. I say, we should make the most of the time we have left together, and THEN figure out what to do about your brother when we get home, okay?"

She nodded and touched his hand, pressing it up to her cheek and kissing his palm ever so gently. She pulled herself along with the sheets and adjusted herself so she leaned up against his shoulder with his arm wrapped around her.

"Hey..." he spoke, "Was last night... you know, was it okay for you?"

Adrienne looked at his eyes then at his lips that were just there, teasing her, calling her to him like a homing beacon that attracted her.

"It was more than okay," she grinned, still staring at his lips.

"Well that's good," he smiled.

"That's fantastic," she teased, throwing her leg over his body and straddling her waist as she brought her lips back to his to satisfy her longing. When she kissed him, it was like she was the air she desperately needed to breathe in.

Stiles moved his hands down to her hips, already feeling her desire as she kissed him down from his lips to his jawbone and neck. It made him his muscles weaken and melt under her touch and he felt that fire begin to spark in him.

"You if you keep doing that," he moaned, "I'm never letting you leave this bed..."

"I'm fine with that," she whispered against his neck and shoulder, placing kisses up and down those areas that would make him give some kind of response back to her.

That was his invitation to push her over back onto her side of the bed so he was on top of her. It was better to appreciate every inch of her this way. He began kissing her neck without any warning, causing her back to arch, which only made him much more motivated to please her.

"Stiles..." she said breathlessly, "You should know... that danger follows me everywhere... I don't want you to get hurt-."

Stiles moved up to her face and pressed his forehead against hers, "Shut up," he demanded and kissed her with passion and desperation. He kissed her further and further down her body until he couldn't contain his lust any longer for her.

The way he fit into her was like a perfect puzzle piece, but Adrienne already knew that. They moved the bed together, causing the headboard to hit against the wall several times. Adrienne placed her hands on his back, gripping onto him tightly as he continued to please her and make her groan over and over again. Believe it or not, it was better the second time than it was the first time. The first time she was scared, but willing at the same time. Now she felt awakened, and so did Stiles. It was like their eyes had been opened after years of sleeping.

Adrienne didn't want it to end, and it seemed to go on forever, like an endless session of pleasure. The sensation soon became too much for her to even hold still, so she pushed him down onto his back and began to take matters into her own hands, increasing the pleasurable moment for both of them.

"Shit..." he groaned.

She grinned and bit her lip before kissing him hard on his lips, then she moved to his neck against, nibbling ever so gently on the skin there as she was nothing but gentle with the rest of her body.

"That feel good?" she asked in a high, but seductive down against his neck.

"So good..." he moaned again, closing his eyes and interlacing his hand with hers.

This went on between the two of them until she fell beside him again, breathing heavily with a smile on her face and sweat dripping down her forehead. Stiles rolled over onto his side and chuckled at her as she stared at the ceiling.

"You are so bad..." he whispered into her ear, "I never knew that about you."

"I guess you're just a good influence on me," she grinned, leaning back onto her side again.

He pushed another piece of hair out of her face and kissed her, placing his hand on her hip where it fit so comfortably and perfectly. It was about an hour later when they fell back onto the bed in the same manner only more exhausted and happier.

"What a way to start a day off, don't you think?" she breathed, still panting as he chest rose up and down several times.

"You bet," he said in the same way, looking up at the ceiling as if he couldn't move any more after all of that time.

It took a little while before Adrienne was asleep again. Stiles got up and put on some shorts before going into his suitcase, on the other side of that dreaded curtain, to get out some clothes he could wear for the day, although he was almost positive after all of that, he'd either be in those clothes all day, or he'd be taking them off within a matter of a few hours. That was really up to Adrienne. It was only 10 in the morning, which meant that they must have woken up, originally, earlier than they thought. So, Stiles picked up some eggs from the fridge and began to throw some breakfast together. His dad had taught him a thing or two about making breakfast, so at least he could do that with some ease.

Adrienne heard the sound of the stove on, so she too got out of bed and threw on Stiles's t-shirt that was lying on the floor from the previous night. She threw it on over her and she headed towards the kitchen where she saw Stiles standing at the stove over a pan. She snuck up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist, placing tiny innocent kisses on his upper back to the back of his neck.

"What's that for?" he asked, grinning as he looked over his left shoulder.

"You're making breakfast," she smiled, "Nice effort."

"Why thank you," he smiled, holding up his spatula proudly, "I did make some eggs for you, but I know what you're favorite breakfast is."

Adrienne leaned against the kitchen counter. Stiles couldn't help but notice how she looked like a supermodel, the way her legs were placed and the way her lips looked so perfect in comparison to the rest of her face. She saw the batter of pancake mix on the counter with tons of little dots inside.

"Blueberries," she smiled as he put the mix onto the pan.

Adrienne threw herself into his arms and kissed his lips gently. He responded by wrapping his arms tightly around her body as if he had no intention of letting her go, "Is it possible to love you more?"

"I'm not so sure, but I'd like to see you try," he grinned, kissing her lips again.

She smiled against his lips with her forehead placed against his, "Wow... so now he's a smooth talker and he cooks... Stiles Stilinski, you're changing on me."

"Why Adrienne McCall," he whispered back, "I don't see you picking daisies and singing amongst the woodland creatures any more."

"I never did that in the first place," she defended, rubbing her nose against his.

"You get what I mean," he laughed, "You're not the same sweet and innocent Adrienne I met in the lake all that time ago... I wasn't aware of how much of a tigress you are in bed."

"I wasn't aware of that myself, to be perfectly honest," she replied, then placed a tiny kiss on his lips.

"Not to mention, you have an excellent taste in wardrobe," he said, looking down at the t-shirt she was wearing, "It looks much better than any tight dress you could wear."

"So no more tight dresses?" she raised her eyebrows.

"No, keep the tight dresses," he begged, "The tight dresses look nice on you... but maybe not quite as nice as this does."

He leaned his head down and began to kiss along her jawline to her ear, whispering in a deep and low tone, "You're so sexy like this... in my shirt..." his voice sent shivers up and down her arms, and he saw them and smiled at it, "It's so hot to know that just by whispering in your ear I can turn you on..."

"Stiles," she breathed.

"Yes, sweetheart?" he asked in the same voice, his lips kissing her neck in the spot that always made her melt in his arms.

Adrienne wrapped her arms around Stiles's neck as tight as she could so she could wrap her legs around his waist, feeling as much friction as she could between their two bodies and getting rid of all that sexual frustration that led up to this day. He placed her on the counter so she could be more easily accessible to him.

"I want you so bad..." she whispered as his lips moved under her chin to the other side of her neck while his hands rubbed her upper and inner thighs at a teasingly slow place.

"I know you do," he replied.

Adrienne threw her head against his shoulder and took a deep breath, then smelling something weird in the air, like the tiniest hint of smoke.

"Honey," she said urgently, patting on his shoulder. Stiles looked over at the stove and remembered that he had set a pancake there over a burning stove. He shut it off immediately and the two of them laughed.

"Maybe it's time for me to take a shower," she laughed.

"What an excellent idea," Stiles said, picking up the spatula again, "Breakfast will be served unburned by the time you're out."

"You're so good to me," she said, kissing his cheek before heading back to the other side of the cabin the the bathroom.

Before she went into the bathroom, she stopped and looked at the mess that was all over the floor. Except this was a good mess. The sheets were all over the bed and on the floor and there were pieces of her clothing on either side of the bed. She leaned up against the wall and bit her lip while remembering everything that had changed in just a few hours. It was like a dream that she would never wake up from.

Adrienne had decided not to take time to run a blow dryer through her hair. Instead, she just put her wet hair up in a bun and she changed into some sweats that she found on the top of the clothes in her suitcase. Now she was sitting at the table, indulging in the blueberry pancakes that Stiles had made for her. They ate in silence because her mouth was too full of food constantly for her to say anything.

"Enjoying your food?" Stiles chuckled.

She looked up at him and grinned, followed by a cute little nod before she returned back to her breakfast and chugged down half the glass of milk next to her plate.

"Can I ask you something?" Stiles asked, anxiously tapping his fingers against the table.

"What's up?" she asked, taking another sip of her milk.

"Are you...uh..." he sighed and scratched his nose a few times, "Are you happy here? Right now?"

"I don't see how I can't be," she said sweetly, "I mean, I'm in the middle of a beautiful forest in sunny California for 3 more weeks with blueberry pancakes and a hot guy who loves me... I'm perfect."

He shook his head, "You were perfect before you had all those things."

Adrienne blushed and hid her face by looking back down at her plate while trying to hold in the flirtatious giggle.

"Come here..." Stiles whispered, patting his lap and opening his arms to her.

She put her fork down almost immediately and walked over to him and placed herself on his lap so his arm stretched across her and held her outer leg securely in his hand while she wrapped her arms around his neck. He seemed happy enough just to have her there so close to him and feel the warmth of her skin against him. That was all he needed.

"So tell me about this hot guy who's in love with you," he teased, "I'd like to know who I'm up against."

Adrienne giggled and threw her head into his shoulder, "Oh no one... just my boyfriend..."

"Your boyfriend, huh?" he grinned, "Is he taller than me?"

"No," she laughed, "He's about your height, he has brown eyes, dark hair, he's a little pale, but he's got killer good looks and a gorgeous smile to go along with it."

"Oh really?"

"Yes really... he's also super funny and sweet..."

"Does he kiss better than me?"

She shook her head. Stiles grinned and began to push his lips forward towards Adrienne's, but she put her index finger in front of him to stop him while she bit on her bottom lip with a devious look on her face.

"I'm just going to go get dressed," she said, getting up off his lap and laughing as she took the curtain and pulled it to the side to block her area of the room from his.

"I don't see why you need that," Stiles called, "I'm just going to watch your shadow anyway."

Adrienne rolled her eyes and just continued to get dressed anyway, disregarding his snarky and confident comment. It wasn't like she was going to do anything special while she was changing, like exaggerate a certain movement of hers. He didn't really care if she took off her shirt like some supermodel. The one thing he didn't want her to do was be something she wasn't, because he loved her for being exactly who she was. It was when she had taken both her shirt and sweatshirt off to look through her suitcase when Stiles pushed the curtain past him and walked ever so slowly towards her. Adrienne knew exactly what was happening, but she was too in love to stop it, so she pushed all of her hair over to rest on one shoulder, exposing the skin under her bra strap.

As Stiles came closer to her, he rested his fingers on her arms and started to feel up and down the soft skin, then he pushed the strap out of his way and began to breathe gently on her skin between her shoulder and neck and place small kisses up and down her neck to her ear then back down again.

"Why don't we do something today that doesn't involve this kinda stuff..." she said, throwing her head slightly back.

"But isn't this the more fun stuff?" he whispered against her neck as he planted bigger kisses on her favorite spot.

"We also have all the time in the world to do this," she argued, even though she was already beginning to melt at his touch. Each time she protested, his kisses became more intense, which felt better and better to her.

"Yeah... we do..."

Adrienne turned around and looked into Stiles's brown eyes as they fixated on hers. She watched how he looked at her with a kind of passion that was irreplaceable and unforgettable. It wasn't just lust that was in his eyes, but he was so terribly in love. It was like he was drowning from being so in love, but he didn't want anyone to lift him back up to the surface.

"What the hell," Adrienne shrugged and threw his shirt over his head before he kissed her again, this time with much more intent, and they fell onto the bed again.

Some time past and they were back in that same state on the bed, tired, but in the best way possible, wearing nothing but a thin sheet of sweat and out of breath. It took them a few minutes for them to catch their breath until they were breathing normally and not quite as loudly. That's when Stiles turned over on his side, facing Adrienne.

"I have to admit," he said, "all this happening right now feels sort of bizarre."

"Bizarre?" Adrienne asked, raising her eyebrows, "and what do you mean by that?"

"I mean... it's like a dream," he shrugged, "A crazy, wonderful dream."

Adrienne rolled onto her side as well, "Well then I am in the greatest whack job on the entire face of the planet if falling in love with you is crazy."

Stiles looked up and down her body underneath the sheets and smiled at her.

"What?" she asked, slightly worried at the devious look in his eyes.

"Get changed," he said, throwing the sheets off of him.

"Why?" Adrienne inquired, sitting up and holding the sheets to her chest.

"Because you and I are gonna do something today," he said, pulling on some shorts and a t-shirt.

"Like what?"

"You'll see."

He winked at her and she fell back on the bed. Now that she thought about it, her tired bones made her feel like staying in bed with him all day was a great idea. She saw Stiles put on his swim trunks and she suddenly felt so afraid in her own skin as she sank back onto the bed.

"What's wrong?" he asked, sitting on her side of the bed.

"You're seriously making me go back out there?" she trembled.

"Last time won't be like this time," he assured her, taking her hand in his, "I'll be right by your side the whole time."

"Stiles, if I can't go back into the water, it's for a reason... there is SOMETHING in there that wants me dead."

"Fortunately, you can't drown in water," he said, playfully poking her nose, "So whatever was after you, CLEARLY wasn't trying to kill you."

Adrienne sat up, punching the sheets closer to her shoulders as she looked at the bed and how much safer it would be if she stayed right where she was.

"You don't have to go all the way in," he said, touching her chin gently, "At least sit on the dock with me and get some sun? That way I can still be close to you."

She sat up and ran her hands through her hair several times, then groaned, "Ugh. Fine."

Stiles cheered to himself, and then scurried over to the bed, kissing Adrienne on the cheek, then running to her suitcase and throwing her one-piece swimsuit at her, landing directly in her face. Adrienne wasn't comfortable with the idea at all, but she did trust Stiles, and that was really enough to rely on for now.

The two of them reached the dock, Adrienne holding onto Stiles's arm as she watched the gently moving water with cautious eyes, taking smaller steps as she grew closer to the edge.

"I've changed my mind," she said, letting go of his arm and marching back towards the house, "I can't do this..."

Stiles quickly did a double take and followed her, reaching down to grab her hand, which made her stop walking, but her back was still facing him.

"Adrienne McCall," he whispered gently, moving his hand towards himself, hoping that she would follow him, and she did, slowly turning herself to face him, but she was staring at his neck and collarbone. Stiles placed the tips of his fingers along her jawline, "Look at me..." he whispered, "I promise you... that from this moment on... I'm not gonna let anyone take you away from me."

Adrienne looked down at his other hand and picked it up, clutching both his hands tightly and looking up into his brown eyes, nodding her head slowly.

Stiles walked carefully backwards, learning his lesson from the first time, and looked over his shoulder a few times. He stepped down onto the latter carefully, then let her sit down on the edge of the dock. He then fell into the water and held himself onto the edge, moving his hands to her waist as he assisted her into the water beside him. Once the cool liquid enveloped her body, she clutched tightly to Stiles as if letting go, for even a second, would kill her.

"Relax..." he whispered, feeling her shaking and shivering body against his and pressing his forehead to hers, "Shhh," he said comfortingly, "I'm right here, you don't have to worry."

He stroked the top of her dry head as he felt her shaking begin to calm, but her breathing picked up.

"You're doing it," he encouraged her, "Look, you're back in the water and you're safe."

She looked around her, then back up at him, "I am?"

He nodded and smiled, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear, "You are."

A smile started to grow across her face once she got more comfortable. Stiles could even feel her grip getting looser on him. She floated away from him briefly and moved in a small circle once, trying to get used to the feeling of the current working against her body as she floated against it. Adrienne then threw herself back at Stiles, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck, and her legs wrapping around his waist like a koala bear on a tree. She had a smile on her face, which was like watching heaven's gates reopen.

It wasn't long at all before their lips met again in a slow and tender embrace. With Stiles standing on the sand in the more shallow area of the lake and Adrienne clinging herself to him, it seemed like the perfect setting for Adrienne's ideal romance. There was her home, in the water, and there was the man she yearned for the most, all at the same time.

As their lips left each other, Adrienne's eyes still remained closed, still lingering in the moment, but Stiles opened his eyes and bit his bottom lip as he grinned. He then took Adrienne's body and dunked her under the water, causing her to break free of her grasp on him and shake her body uncontrollably until her head reached the surface again, gasping for air as she clung to Stiles again, breathing with fright.

"Are you okay?" he asked, apologetically, "Did I scare you?"

Adrienne seemed to be looking at him with frightened eyes, but that quickly changed when she jumped up and dunked his head under the water. He rose up again with a laugh and shook his head like a wet dog, making Adrienne flinch a little bit with the small bits of water flying on her face.

The scene faded into a cold evening inside the cabin with a roaring fire. The slight breeze of the night came in through the screen door of the cabin while Adrienne was wrapped in a blanket that reached across Stiles's lap. Her head was resting against his chest as they both looked at the fire, both of them smelling like lake water while her hair was nearly dry.

"Stiles..." she whispered, not turning her attention away from the fire.

"Hm?" he responded, rubbing his thumb slowly and gently against her body.

"Scott's visiting tomorrow," she said quietly, "What are we gonna do?"

Stiles sighed. Adrienne knew this was a hard question when she felt his thumb cease its movements. She looked up at him with concern.

"I can tell you one thing," he said, "He's not gonna like knowing that his best friend is sleeping with his sister."

"Well... yeah," she shrugged, "but he should understand..."

"You think he will?"

"Yeah..." she said, moving her hand to touch his cheek, "because this is more than just sex... right?"

"Of course," he insisted, sitting her up so he could look at her directly in her eyes. He placed both of his hands on either side of her face, "Adrienne Calliope... I've only been in love with one girl my entire life, but I had no idea what love really was because it was always one sided… and they say when you’re really in love, you just know… sitting here with you right now, I finally just know … and  I'm so in love with you that it's painfully cheesy."

Adrienne laughed and threw her head into his shoulder, "That was so cheesy."

"See?" he chuckled, "I told you!"

He planted a kiss on her forehead, creating a moment of silence between them.

"Stiles?" she asked again, but neither of them moving a muscle, "Can you just hold me tonight...?"

Stiles looked back in her eyes, then readjusted himself so she could fit perfectly in his arms, accompanied by the sound of the roaring fire.

He whispered back at her, "Always..."


	16. Hot Water

Morning had come and Adrienne lay in bed in shorts and a tank top, fully rested in the arms of a sleeping Stiles, who was heavily breathing with his mouth wide open, a bit of drool falling out of the corner of his mouth. Thankfully it was on the other side of his mouth so it wasn't as obvious to her. As the sun trickled in through the blinds on the windows, Adrienne untangled herself from Stiles's arms, leaving him heavily sleeping like a fallen log in the woods. She stretched her arms up, then to the right, and lastly to the left, then she ran her fingers through her tangled hair, which had a lingering aroma of lake water from the previous day. She got up out of bed and rubbed her eyes a few times as she stepped into the light towards the bathroom.

Getting a decent hot shower out of the bathroom looked like a difficult task, considering that the shower system was only a tub, a sliding wall, and a cheap, thin shower head that shook when it was first turned on. However, Adrienne found it easily enjoyable once the water was set to the right warm temperature. This kind of contact seemed to be better than submerging herself in the water, because of the way it drowned her, but left her some air at the same time. As the steam started to build up, she felt a pair of hands reach her sides, grabbing a hold of her waist and feeling up and down her curves. This was soon accompanied by a pair of lips grazing her neck, causing Adrienne to release a small, but crystal clear, moan from her lips.

"I know how to make you melt with one touch," he growled proudly, making the kiss up her neck more intense.

"One of these days, I'm no longer going to be turned on by that," she moaned softly, throwing her head back and closing her eyes, her voice growing weaker as she tried to speak, "One day you'll just... come up to me and... kiss my neck just like that... and I won't do a damn thing about it..."

That's when he moved one of his hands from her waist to her stomach, smoothing it down her tanned skin until he reached her center, rubbing her folds ever so gently, making her more and more anxious for him to go further. That subtle bite to her lower lip and the slight arching of her back gave him the signal to reach his fingers inside her and feel her wetness on some of his fingers, while his index finger found her small bundle of nerves and pushed against it, creating a louder moan from her.

Even though she felt herself losing all of her strength and gaining all of her passionate sexual desire, she had to at least play around with him, even if it was for a brief moment.

"Stiles..." she moaned, "Scott's coming to visit us today... we don't wanna get caught, do we?"

He shook his head, his eyes still looking down at her as he kissed up to her ear, the hot water running down his body only adding to the incredible heat between them.

"That won't be for at least... another hour," he whispered into her ear, his breath sending chills down her spine, which he felt against his body, "So we have all that time to do whatever we want..." he pressed a little harder against her core, circling his fingers a little bit, which caused her to moan his name again, but this time it was more a mumble, like she was speechless, "Tell me what you want..."

Adrienne grabbed a hold of his hand and turned herself so she was facing him with his wrist in her hand tightly, her eyes completely wrapped in lust and temptation. She pressed her body against his, her hands grabbing onto his shoulders as she made her way towards his ear, whispering to him, "I want you to throw me against the wall... and I want you to have your way with me..."

He wasted no time after that. He picked her up by her waist, his member already hard just by the sound of her previous moans, and slammed her back against the wall, kissing her chest, to her collarbone, to her neck once again. Seconds later, he was already inside her, savoring the amazing feeling of their connection. He had savored it so much that it caused him to throw his head back as he thrusted slowly in and out of her. Adrienne was breathing in synch with him, gasping once or twice from the sensation, followed by a drawn out moan.

"Stiles..." she moaned, breathlessly. It took her a few moments to gather what she was going to say to him, but her mind was abandoning all other thoughts that had nothing to do with this moment, and so she bent her head down to meet his and kissed him passionately, whispering against his lips, "More..."

He never needed to be told twice. When she told him she wanted more, he knew exactly what she meant by that, and started thrusting with wild abandon, causing even louder moans and groans to come out of both of their mouths as they moved together, the hot water making even more steam in the bathroom.

They both came undone together. Neither of them were a moment too soon or too late. That's how it always happened between them, miraculously enough. Adrienne was set on her feet, her knees weakening as Stiles caught her with a smile on his face, both of them completely out of breath. There was nothing else to do except kiss until the exhaustion wore off, but they didn't have that kind of time anymore, because Adrienne jumped once she heard the slightest noise in the far off distance.

"What's wrong?" Stiles asked, rubbing her forearm.

"Scott," she panicked, "He's here."

"What?" he shouted, his eyes widening, "He's early! Why!?"

"I don't know!" Adrienne cried, "What are we gonna do?!"

Stiles held her firmly in front of him, "You are going to finish washing your hair. I got this."

He quickly kissed her lips and jumped out of the shower door, grabbing his cold and damp swim trunks from the towel rack where they had been drying, and put them on. He figured he probably had a good 10 seconds before Scott could see anything going on with the cabin, so he ran outside as fast as he could and threw himself into the lake.

Thankfully, by the time the water had settled and he had been in the water for a good amount of time, Scott came into view.

"Hey Scott!" Stiles waved, swimming towards the latter.

"Hey man," Scott said, smiling and running towards the edge of the dock, helping Stiles out of the water, "How's the water?"

"A little chilly this morning, actually," Stiles shrugged, "I just thought I'd get a morning swim in or something."

"Looks like fun," Scott encouraged.

_ You don't know the half of it _ , he thought, putting all thoughts of the past few days behind him before anything could slip out.

"Yeah it is," Stiles nodded instead.

They walked into the cabin and Scott saw Stiles's curtain pushed back and Adrienne's clothes all piled up on top of her suitcase. Thank god they didn't sleep together the previous night, otherwise, his clothes would be on the floor too, and Scott would certainly get suspicious at that.

"So where's Adrienne?" Scott asked.

"I think she's in the shower," Stiles said, scratching the back of his head, "I honestly don't know where else she would be, considering the water is running and she's not asleep."

"Okay, then I'll wait," Scott said, making his way towards the kitchen table.

"Why? What's up?" Stiles asked, following him.

Scott took a seat at the table and leaned against it, "We've been doing a little digging and we think we may have figured out what's happening to her."

"You think?" Stiles asked, taking a seat on the other side of the table.

"Yeah," Scott nodded, "but since Adrienne left Beacon Hills, there's been a shortage in the town's water supply. Our dads  traced it all to one water source, the pipes of a local outdoor pool."

"Did you figure out what that could mean?" a female's voice called from the other side of the cabin.

Adrienne came out of the bathroom, her wet hair tied up in a bunny tail bun on her head with her tank top and sweats on.

"It tells us something," Scott explained, "someone wants to use all of that water supply against you, Adrienne. We're not sure why, and we're not sure who, but we're getting there-."

"I know who it is..." Adrienne said quietly, staring at the floor.

Stiles's fists clenched together, "Who?"

"The Nereid," she said, looking to her brother, "They're Naiads too. There are two types of them, the Nereids and the Oceanids..."

"When Poseidon's kingdom was under attack," Stiles added, "He gave Oceanids the most powerful gift of protection; an identification spell on their eyes so they could tell any species just by looking at them..."

"Well the Nereids were jealous," Adrienne continued, "They were Naiads, but they weren't nearly as loved by Poseidon as they wanted to be, so several of them tried to kill the Oceanids in their sleep, but their new gift of defense and sight made it impossible for the Nereids to succeed. If there really isn't anyone I know who would want to hurt me for any other reason, then this has to be the explanation."

Scott stood up and walked slowly towards her, cautiously rubbing her arms, "You don't need to be afraid of them..."

"I'm not," she said proudly, but calmly.

"Good," he nodded, "Do you know how to defeat them?"

"Yes..." she answered quietly, "Lure them... give them a target to hit. Once they get a goal, they'll follow it until they've succeeded. Give them a target of interest, and then you can fight them and win."

Scott nodded and kissed her forehead, then wrapped his arms around his little sister, nearly crushing her, but she really didn't mind.

"This'll all be over soon," he promised her.

"Take your time," Adrienne insisted.

They took a step away from each other and sighed together before Scott turned to Stiles and hugged him briefly, then stepped out of the cabin, letting the screen door slam behind him. The rough sound of the door hitting the wood made Adrienne's body shake as though that door had hit her behind her back and she didn't see it coming. She fell to the ground, clutching her heart as she felt the air escaping her lungs. It wasn't because there was another curse set upon her. If there was, she wouldn't know why this was happening to her again, but she did know. Adrienne was terrified because she knew there was only one way to keep the Nereid off her tail, and that was not an option she was open to just yet.

Stiles got up, pushing over the chair he was sitting in, and ran to her side as soon as he saw her collapse to the ground. His hands were shaking, but he used them to rub her back in circles, but it was more like the earth was spinning around them.

"Hey..." he breathed, "Are you okay? What's wrong?"

"I know..." she repeated several times in a hushed whisper.

"You know what?" he asked, trying to move himself in front of her to look at her face, but she wouldn't let him, "Adrienne, talk to me. What do you know?"

"You're all in danger," she whispered again.

"It'll be okay," he said, reaching forward and stroking her hair.

"No it won't..." she said, "Not for me.. Not for any of you..."

"Why, Adrienne?" Stiles asked again, "What's going to happen? What do you know?"

Adrienne moved her head up slowly when she met Stiles' worried gaze at her.

"The Nereid only wants one thing and they aren't going to stop until they get it..."

"What do they want?"

Adrienne was afraid to say it because she knew it would make him feel terrible. She had basically sent Scott and all of his friends on a wild goose chase only to end up realizing the truth. Then she whispered quietly, "Me..." she paused to wait for a reaction, but Stiles didn't say anything, "They want to consume my powers from my body, and kill me."

He waited a moment. He could see the fear consuming her like a thin sheet hovering over her skin. But she wasn't afraid of the Nereid; she was afraid of being taken away from the people that she loved. That was easy enough to tell. Stiles knew Adrienne had something to fear, but if she was going to fear anything, it would be how he would be after she was gone. Seeing anyone upset or lost would be terrible, especially if she was the one who caused it. She was like her brother in that way.

"Then we are going to fight," Stiles said sternly.

"You can't-."

"Don't tell me I can't," he demanded, "They told me I couldn't do a lot of things. They told me I couldn't make any friends, that I couldn't amount to anything, that I couldn't get a girl to even think twice about me in any way... I have proved them wrong before, and I can prove you wrong too. It's not like I'm alone... and neither are you. Your brother, your friends, your parents... everyone you love is going to fight for you. I can promise you that."

Adrienne moved her hand to her cheek, wiping off the wet salty liquid on from her cheek. Then she leaned in and gave him the gentlest kiss on his lips. That kiss was what they needed to seal their fate. They weren't leaving each other for anything anytime soon.


	17. Our Little Secret

Anyone in Beacon Hills who knew Adrienne McCall assumed that the final day of her isolation in the cabin in the woods would be her salvation. When Lydia, Kira, and Malia drove towards the woods, they figured that Adrienne would already be packed and ready to go, making this a rather short visit.

They wasted no time parking the car and taking the short walk to the cabin that was near the lake. Kira had been there before, so she lead the way over the covered up trail. Once she reached the cabin, she pushed the screen door open. Malia and Lydia were a bit further behind her, but she hoped she could at least get a moment to talk to Adrienne before they arrived. What she saw when she walked in gave her something to talk about.

"Oh my god," she mouthed, throwing her hands to face, trying to cover her eyes, yet trying to examine what was in front of her.

Adrienne was in bed, and she was fully asleep. What really shocked Kira was how comfortable she seemed to be tangled in Stiles's arms. Neither of them seemed to be wearing any clothes, from what she could tell. Kira panicked and immediately thought she had to wake them up before Lydia or Malia saw. That didn't work out in her favor.

As Lydia walked into the cabin behind Kira, she too threw her hands to her mouth, mouthing a large, "Oh my god!" to Kira.

Kira threw her finger to her lips and made a "shhh" sound as quietly as she could. In the midst of their panicking, they didn't even see Malia walk in.

"Oh my god!" she shouted, startling both Stiles and Adrienne awake.

Adrienne was the first to open her eyes, and at the angle she was lying on Stiles's chest, she had a direct view of the three girls who were standing near the side of the bed, watching them and freaking out.

"Oh my god!" Adrienne yelled, throwing herself to the other side of the bed and pushing the sheets higher up on her chest.

Adrienne's voice woke up Stiles and when he saw the girls all shocked with their jaws wide open, the first thing he did was complain, "Seriously! You don't call or knock first? You just walk right in and make yourself at home? Is that how this works now?"

"Adrienne..." Kira cautioned, "Scott is going to be beyond furious when he figures out what's going on here."

"He's not coming, is he?" Stiles asked, sitting up and placing an arm around Adrienne to somehow protect her as she squeezed the sheets to her body for dear life.

"No!" Lydia said, "and you two should consider yourselves lucky that it was just us!"

"There is no way you can keep this a secret from him," Malia said plainly.

"But we need you to," Adrienne pleaded, touching Stiles’s arm, "All of you. Please? This is the happiest I’ve ever been-.”

"Yeah, and we all know exactly why!" Lydia scolded.

Adrienne rolled her eyes, then continued, "While I'm disappointed that my brother's best friend is the one to make me happy, he does," she said sweetly, rubbing Stiles's shoulder, “I love him…”

Stiles’s face softened as he looked into her eyes, “I love you too…”

They brought their lips together as they were the only two people on earth, causing Malia, Kira, and Lydia to all roll their eyes in disgust.

“We’re still here,” Kira said politely.

“Get your disgusting paws off each other!” Lydia snapped.

Adrienne sighed, “Can you please just keep this a secret until I find a way to tell Scott?"

There was a pause.

"If you can't do that, can you at least go behind that curtain over there so we can put some clothes on?" Stiles asked, "because I feel completely uncomfortable."

Kira led the girls over to the kitchen area where the curtain was hanging on a wire. Lydia pulled it closed and they turned their backs to it to avoid seeing anything they shouldn't see.

"You realize you're going to have to tell him at some point, right?" Kira reminded Adrienne.

"I know," Adrienne said, getting out of bed and rummaging through her suitcase, "I just have to warm him up to the possibility of a relationship between Stiles and I. Once he accepts it, then he can know we're together."

"But you will tell him in the near future," Malia interjected, "Keeping this a secret from him for a long time is only gonna get him angrier."

"I get that," Adrienne said, "Just let me be the one to tell him."

"Don't I get a say in this?" Stiles asked.

"You mean you DON'T want Scott to find out?" Lydia asked.

"No, that's not what I'm saying," he defended, then took Adrienne's hand, "I want to tell him together..."

"You'd do that?" Adrienne asked, stepping towards him, "You'd be there with me through it all?"

"Of course I would," Stiles said sweetly.

Adrienne bit her lip and wrapped her arms around his neck, "You are the greatest..."

Stiles grinned and positioned himself perfectly in front of her face so she had no choice but to kiss him.

"I hear kissing!" Malia called, "Less disgusting. More packing."

Adrienne chuckled and she pecked his lips once more before she gathered all of her clothes from off the floor and threw them into her suitcase.

"So is that your plan?" Stiles asked, taking handfuls of clothes and walking over to his suitcase at the other side of the room, "Bring up the idea to Scott of you and I being... you know, a thing... and then once he's had some time to think, we tell him?"

"Something like that," Adrienne said, "Maybe you should come over more often."

"HA!" Stiles laughed, "That's a good one. The definition of me coming over more often means me sleeping on the couch."

Adrienne bit her bottom lip and grabbed Stiles's hand, pulling her towards him, "Maybe I'll come down for a midnight snack every once in awhile..."

"I'd like that," he said, pressing their foreheads together and placing his hand on her cheek.

Lydia pushed the curtain out of the way and began walking immediately to the other side of the room, "Judging by the sound of you guys not moving, I assume you're done."

Adrienne wasn't going to say anything because she was right. There really wasn't any packing left to do. Malia got the kitchen supplies that didn't come with the safe house, and then Kira brought over Adrienne's suitcase. As the girls piled the suitcases into the car, Adrienne started to follow them out the door, but Stiles stopped her, pulling her and kissing her hard on the mouth as if he'd never kissed anyone before.

"What was that for?" she asked, smiling widely.

"That was for our last moments that we have together before we go into hiding," Stiles said, rubbing his hand against her waist.

"That explains a lot about last night, then," she said with a wink.

"That didn't bother you at all?" he asked, pushing a piece of hair out of her face.

"Not at all," she grinned, rubbing her hands against his arms, "You were so forceful, so demanding... it was such a turn on..."

When they kissed again, it was like a fire that needed to be kept covered, so Stiles let go of the kiss before anyone got a little too excited.

"But this is going to be difficult after today," he said, keeping his hands on her shoulders to keep himself from getting too close, "We're going to have to be at arm's length again... we'll have to act like we're just friends."

"That could be hot," Adrienne suggested, "You know... sneaking off into some corner or hiding in the janitor's closet... you climbing through my window at midnight."

"If you think I'm capable of doing that, you're crazy," he laughed, "but hey... we'll always have the safe house."

Adrienne gave him a small smile and broke the distance between them one last time with a kiss, jolting herself forward and wrapping her arms around his neck that she had to push herself up on her toes. To her, that was the best way to end these weeks in the woods alone. It was almost like it was too good to be true. The fact was, everything that happened there was too good to be true, because they had to hide it all like it never happened. Adrienne had never been happier, and now it was time to put all of that away. At least the girls let Stiles and Adrienne sit next to each other in the back seat of Lydia's car. They were holding hands and playing with each other's fingers, enjoying what they had left of their public relationship.

"Lydia..." Adrienne asked, "You're bringing me back..."

"That's correct," she answered.

"Then that means you caught the Nereid?" she asked again.

Lydia sighed, "No... but Scott said he needed you home urgently..."

"Did he say why?" Stiles asked.

"He didn't tell me," she shrugged, "but I guess we're going to find out."

Even after the events of the long vacation in the safe house, things went relatively back to normal. Scott and Stiles were inseparable as usual, which worked to Adrienne's advantage because Scott wouldn't let her out of his sight for the majority of the day. He told her the reason why he brought her home was because the Nereid had discovered her location, that's why he had to bring her home. It was more likely that Adrienne would be safer amongst her werewolf brothers, a fox, a banshee, and a hunter.

The one luxury that came with life going back to normal was that Adrienne and Stiles had English class together without Scott in it. Stiles would always open the door for her and let her in, then they would pick seats that were next to each other on purpose.

Malia occasionally looked at them from the back of the classroom. Their desks were slightly more pushed together than anyone else's and they would constantly draw on each other's notebooks, writing god-knows-what.

After class, Malia gathered her books quicker than anyone and left the classroom, but stood right outside the door, waiting for Adrienne and Stiles to leave.

"I thought you were more cautious than that," Malia said, “Whatever that was? Friends don’t do that."

As she strutted away from them, Adrienne felt a chill in her body, but she wasn't going to say anything. If Malia was right about that display in the classroom, telling Stiles she felt something weird wasn't going to make it any better, especially now that they were in a crowded hallway.

"I'll see you later," she said to Stiles.

"Wait," he called to her. It was weird not reaching out and grabbing her hand, "Can we hang out later?"

"Uh," she said, looking around the hallway, "Sure. Meet in the library after lunch?"

"Perfect."

As happy as Adrienne should be to have a smooth transition back to normal life, she was still a little shaken up by what she felt when Lydia walked past her. It was like a cold slap to the face that resonated throughout her entire body, from forehead to toe. She had never felt that way about Lydia before, and it puzzled her in ways she didn't understand. This thought carried her all the way through lunch, and before she knew it, she was in the library, holding a book in her hand. The bell ringing was like a rude awakening into reality.

"Hey," she heard Stiles's voice.

She looked around her location, trying to figure out where he could possibly be, then she looked through the empty shelf and she saw him wave, which startled her and made her drop her book.

"Whoa!" he gasped, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah..." she nodded, bending down to slowly pick up her book, "I'm fine."

"Good," he said, "Cause you've been acting a little weird lately."

"Me? Weird?" she scoffed, "I'm fine. Nothing's wrong with me. I'm good."

"Good?" he asked, raising his eyebrows, "You didn't say 2 words during lunch."

"I'm the new kid at school, I don't say anything during lunch," she lied.

"That can't be true," Stiles said, "You're my..." his voice fell to an even quieter whisper, "You're my girlfriend... I know when you're lying to me."

"Do you?" she asked, leaning against the empty slot in the book shelf, "Do you really know when I'm lying?"

He paused and repeated the same action, "I really do."

"You know, that's the first time you've called me... what you called me... since we got back..." she said, biting subtly on her lower lip, "I like it."

"What are you doing?" Stiles asked, his eyes widening. He wanted to step back, but at the same time, he wanted to keep listening to her.

"Nothing..." she said softly, continuing to bite on her lip, knowing exactly what it would do to him, "I'm just thinking about you... that's all." Then she winked.

His voice returned back to that quiet whisper as he looked around him, "Alright, if you keep doing that thing with your lip, we're going to have to take this to the janitor's closet or some secluded corner where we can't be found."

"Sorry," she said, standing up straight and opening her book again.

"Don't apologize," he responded, "I'm never sorry that you’re my girlfriend."

Adrienne threw her head against the books behind her and sighed, "I promise you, Stiles, you will be able to say that confidently and above a small whisper soon."

"I can be patient," he said proudly.

"Sure you can," she shook her head.

"Why are you shaking your head?" he asked suspiciously.

"No reason," she chuckled.

"Adrienne Calliope McCall," he joked, "If we weren't in hiding, I would come over there and teach you a lesson."

"I think you've taught me enough lessons over the last several weeks, Stilinski," she said in a much lower register.

"You know what I'm going to do?" he said proudly, "I am going to go to the boys locker room and forget this conversation ever happened."

"Have fun in your cold shower," Adrienne laughed.

Stiles mocked her laughing and then headed out the door in a strut that made her laugh with delight. He made secrecy a bit more enjoyable than she thought it'd be. As laughable as it was with Stiles, it wasn't as fun when she had to lie to her mom and dad. Adrienne knew why she had to lie to her brother, but she felt like it was unfair to hide her boyfriend from her parents. After all the time she spent being alone without a family, she wanted to share the big moments with them. Sitting at the dinner table with nothing to say wasn't exactly how she pictured her first evening back home after several weeks.

"So how was your first day back at school?" Melissa asked Adrienne.

"It was fine," she shrugged, "Nobody spread any rumors about me going to rehab or something, so I guess it's better than anyone would expect."

"I'm just glad the Stilinski boy went with you," Agent McCall interjected, "I felt much better knowing that the son of the sheriff was out there who knew the ropes of the place."

"I'm not so sure about that, dad," Scott said, "Some of the people at school may not be talking about Adrienne going to rehab, but they're spreading some kind of rumor about Stiles and Adrienne and what they could have been doing out there."

This made Adrienne cough because she may have choked on her food, so she picked up her glass of water and started to take sips.

"That's ridiculous," Adrienne defended, "You know high schoolers... always spreading crazy gossip for fun."

"Sure, honey," Melissa assured her, "We believe you."

Adrienne started to cough a little bit more quietly now, "Thanks mom," she said in between coughs.

"Adrienne, are you alright?" Agent McCall asked over the sound of her trying to control her coughing.

"Yes, I'm fine," she said, still coughing, "Something just went down the wrong pipe, I guess."

It didn't sound like anything came down the wrong pipe, because the coughing kept getting louder and louder. Scott started to push himself out of his chair, ready to help when necessary. Suddenly, Adrienne bent over and threw up, what looked like, buckets of water. It started to steam up as if left her mouth and hit the floor.

"Adrienne!" Melissa cried, running from the other side of the table to her daughter's side. Scott was already kneeling beside her, holding back her hair.

Everything may have seemed relatively back to normal, but the real danger was just beginning.


	18. Bump In The Night

Adrienne was lying underneath the covers of her bed, as if they were all she had left to protect her. From her toes, to her neck, the several layers covered up her body, which was covered in cold sweats as she painfully coughed with her congested nose. It was as though everything was numb and out of reach to her, like she was physically not capable of moving her hands from underneath the warmth of her blankets.

Not only did she have a whole entire cover of "armor", but she also had Isaac and Scott taking shifts at her door 24/7. Whatever happened to their sister wasn't by accident. Somebody wanted this to happen to her, and they were going to make sure that she would always stay safe. One thing was for sure; the family was more than relieved that the mother of the house was not only a kick ass mother, but a kick ass doctor too.

"Hey sweetie," Melissa said, knocking on Adrienne's, now always, open door, "How are you feeling?"

Coughing was the only response that she had the strength to conjure up. Melissa sighed and knelt beside her bed, holding her fingers against her neck and watching her watch.

"Well here's some good news," she assured her daughter, "Whatever this is, it's not affecting your heartbeat."

Adrienne willingly nodded, then said through her hoarse voice, "What's the bad news?" then coughed heavily.

"The bad news is," she said, looking down at the floor, "You have a dry throat infection."

"No kidding," Adrienne coughed.

"Now, your father talked to me about this," her mother said, rubbing her forehead gently, "He wants to see if you can heal on just cough syrup alone. No water necessary."

"But mom," Scott interjected, having heard the whole thing from outside the room, "You literally just said she had a dry throat infection. This is Adrienne we're talking about. One sip of water is going to make her stronger in an instant."

"Yes, but water was also what did this to her," Melissa argued, looking back at her son with her hand still on her daughter's forehead, "Your father believes someone is tampering with the water supply. When he finds out how to fix it, we'll try, but for now, he wants to try just cough syrup."

Adrienne not only couldn't argue, but was much too sick and much too tired to argue. She gladly accepted whatever treatment she could receive and went off to sleep. The youngest McCall spent most of her hours sleeping. Whenever she was awake, the sickness, and the cough syrup, would make her talk without her knowledge that she was talking. It was funny at first for Scott and Isaac, but eventually, it just got annoying when she started talking about the two of them. One night, while she was lying in her bed, just staring at the ceiling, she said only one word.

"Pain..." she whispered, with her eyes widening.

Isaac got up from the chair in the hallway and walked slowly inside, "Adrienne? Are you in pain right now?"

"Yes..." she whispered again.

"Okay," he responded, "I'm going to get your mom."

Just as he was about to leave the room, Adrienne said a little louder this time, "Stiles..."

He stopped in his tracks and turned around with a confused expression, "Stiles...?"

She rolled over in her bed, beginning to fall asleep, "Stiles..." she repeated.

"Stiles!" he declared, running out of the room and down the stairs to where Scott was sitting, "Stiles!"

"Stiles?" Scott asked.

"That's what she said," Isaac confirmed, "She said pain and when I told her I'd get your mom, she said... well, you know."

"Why would she want Stiles?" Scott asked.

"I don't know," Isaac shrugged, "Maybe they became really close friends while at the cabin. They were there for a long time, after all."

"Yeah..." he pondered, "Maybe she trusts him. It'll just make her feel better to have more people she trusts in the house."

Isaac tossed Scott’s phone to him and he dialed Stiles's number, telling him that Adrienne was sick. More like Adrienne had something that looked like it was worse than the plague. Her skin was pale, her eyes were red, and she was coughing up and storm whenever she was awake. Obviously, this bothered Stiles, so he was there in under five minutes. Instead of knocking his usual three times, he just kept knocking at the door at a quick pace, causing Scott to panic as he got up and ran to the door.

"Hey man, thanks for coming," Scott said.

"You know I'm always here for you, right?" Stiles said, walking into the house and looking up the stairs, "Now where's Adrienne? How is she?"

"Not getting any better," Scott answered worriedly, "Dad won't let her drink any water. She's been surviving off cough syrup for two days. It doesn't seem to be getting any better-."

"Let me see her," Stiles demanded, his eyes glued to the upstairs of the McCall house.

"Uh, sure, go ahead," he nodded and Stiles bolted up the steps until he almost ran into the end of the hallway, where Adrienne's room was, across from Scott's.

He saw her weak body, lying there, only supported by three or four pillows. Before they left for the cabin, Adrienne's room was filled with all kinds of girl items, like hair products, posters, open windows with the wind blowing in freely, and she was so full of light and joy. All that was in her room now was cough syrup and tissues with the windows closed and her bathroom locked. It was like she was quarantined. But once she caught sight of Stiles, it was like looking through a translucent cup covering up a light that was burning inside.

"Stiles..." she glowed, trying to push herself up to run to him.

"Don't you dare," he insisted, running to her side and holding her in her spot on the bed, "You are not leaving this bed, okay?"

She nodded and relaxed her muscles, letting herself fall onto the bed.

"In any other situation, that would have been hot," he said deeply, starting to laugh a little bit, then shook his head and remembered she was heavily sick, "Right, so... how are you feeling?"

"Terrible," she responded, followed by a cough.

"God I'm so sorry..." he whispered.

"Don't be," she said, reaching to touch his hand, "With you here... I haven't felt so good in days..."

He looked up from the floor and smiled, "Me too..."

"Is English class unbearable without me?" she asked, rubbing her thumb against his hand. In her condition, that was all she could give him as far as her affection goes.

"Completely," he chuckled, "but I’ll be fine. I think you’re gonna be better in no time with your family watching over you... you probably didn't need old Stiles over here."

Adrienne pulled his hand closer towards her and she moved over so he could sit on the side of the bed with his hand tightly in hers across her stomach. With her other hand, she ran her hand over his jawline and started to play with his hair.

"You have no idea how much I need you, do you?" she said quietly, "Stiles... I need you just as much as I need my brothers or my parents... whether we're together or not, you're always gonna have a home here… and I miss you when you're gone..."

"I miss you too," he whispered, picking up her hand and kissing it. 

He leaned closer towards her, but she placed her hand on his chest cautiously. “Don’t… I don’t want you to get sick.”

"Then we can both be sick and I can stay by your side," he said hopefully.

"Or your dad will keep you at your house and we'll be forced to be separated," she corrected. He sighed and backed away from her, but she still held his hand in hers, "Will you at least stay here? At the house, I mean."

"Of course," he nodded, "I'll just stay with Scott downstairs. We'll be there if you need anything."

"Thank you..." she whispered with a small smile.

He bent over, kissed her forehead very slowly, then stood up and left the room, constantly looking back at her. Even with sickly colored skin and a stuffed up nose, she was still the image of perfection in his eyes.

From down the hall, Isaac was standing guard to make sure no funny business was going on during that whole exchange. As it turns out, more had happened than he had expected. Something in his mind told him that he was anxious to tell Lydia what was going on and what he had just overheard between Stiles and Adrienne. The next day at school, instead of standing watch over Adrienne, Isaac went about his regular day at Beacon Hills High, trying to blend in until he would see Malia in the boys locker room.

"What do you know about Stiles and Adrienne?" Isaac asked in a low, quiet voice.

"Why?" she asked, crossing her arms across her chest, "Did you find something?"

"More like I heard something," Isaac said excitedly, "Adrienne has a weakness... love."

“I could have told you that,” Malia said, shaking her head, “This body has so many memories of being annoyed with how she used to look at the Stiles boy.”

“They love each other,” Isaac answered, “It happened at the cabin. Scott has no idea.”

Malia grinned, pacing a little bit in front of Isaac while his finger tapped menacingly on her chin. Isaac began to look a little confused.

"Nerida?" Isaac asked, "What are you planning?"

The devil in Malia’s eyes stared Isaac down as he walked intimidatingly towards him, "The best way to take down your opponent is to make them as weak as humanly possible, if not more, because she's not human... I want you to tell Scott about this little love affair that's been ensuing behind his back. It will destroy Scott and he'll either get mad at Adrienne and never speak to her again OR he'll make Stiles break up with her and she'll be devastated with Stiles AND Scott."

"So I'm telling him," Isaac repeated.

She laughed, "You are so clueless sometimes... Yes, you are going to tell Scott everything you overheard. I’m going to report this to Nerida immediately."

Isaac nodded, then heard the bell ring. It was hard possessing the body of two teenagers when they always have to be at a class of some sort. It wasn't like they needed it or anything. They were mythical Nereids after all. Taking US History is not important if you already have supernatural capabilities, a quest for ultimate power, and an easy target.

Judging by the sounds of coughing getting louder and more frequent visits upstairs by Melissa, Adrienne was not getting any better. For a day or so, she had just remained at one level of sickness, then the next day, it kept getting worse and worse. It was hard for Scott to sit there and listen to the sound of his sister suffering. He wished someone would just find a cure already. He had half a mind to bring Deaton into this, but Agent McCall told him no.

It was even harder for Stiles to sit there while his girlfriend was upstairs, probably near her deathbed, and he had a solution that he wasn't allowed to use, all while nobody in the entire house knew that he was madly in love with the sick girl upstairs and would do absolutely anything to keep her alive.

"Agent McCall," Stiles called, getting up and meeting him at the door when he returned home from work, "You have to let her drink water."

"Not an option," he answered, then pushed past him.

"Please, sir!" Stiles begged, "Your daughter is dying! You know exactly what is going to make her strong again!"

Agent McCall put his briefcase down on the dining room table, not moving from where he stood. Sure, the water was going to make her strong again, but what about the aftermath? If she gets too much, she might turn over to the dark side. Nothing frightened him more than watching Adrienne turn into someone he didn't even recognize; someone that she, herself, had no control over. He wasn't scared by much, but he was by the idea of losing his daughter to some supernatural spirit.

"She's stronger than you think..." Stiles said calmly, "She won't go to that place unless she's angry... and even if it tried to take over her, we can help keep her here. She responds positively to the people she trusts."

The tall and intimidating father of Adrienne McCall turned around and looked at Stiles very angrily, "It's not a good idea-."

"If you don't let her feed, she'll die!" Stiles finally shouted at him. He was completely astounded that he knew the answer to the problem, and yet, he was standing idly by and letting his daughter die.

"Stiles..." Agent McCall said quietly, "You need to leave..."

"Dad," Scott interjected, "Stiles isn't wrong. You know that... We can trust his opinion. He wants to keep her alive just as much as we do. She's like family to him."

Stiles wanted to say something, but he didn't. There was just a long pause as Agent McCall looked between the two of them. He then closed his eyes for a moment, turned away and walked into the kitchen without saying a word.

That night, Scott let Stiles go home and get some rest in his own bed. While it was difficult at first, he agreed in the end. Scott tied Adrienne by her arms to her bed posts with a bottle of water waiting on her bedside table.

"It hurts," Adrienne said horsely.

"I know," Scott said sweetly, "but trust me, after you drink this, you are going to be 100% yourself again. Okay?"

She nodded and took a deep, raspy, breath. Scott took the water bottle, opened it, and brought it to Adrienne's lips. As she started to drink, the color started to return in her lips, her cheeks, her forehead, her hair, followed by her arms and legs, then her hands. Adrienne sat up, her hands still tied to the bedposts.

"Are you... okay?" Scott asked.

Adrienne pressed her hand to her chest and started to breathe full and perfect breaths.

"I feel perfect," she said, her voice fully restored.

Scott smiled brightly and started to untie the knots, giving Adrienne relief against her wrists. Then she got up and hugged him.

"You're the best brother ever," Adrienne said into his shoulder.

"While that is very true," Scott laughed, "It wasn't my constant insisting that made dad give in."

"Then who do I have to thank?"

Scott smiled.

There was a knock on the Stilinski household door. There was nobody there, so Stiles was sitting on his couch, watching TV, waiting for something exciting to happen or something like that. Perhaps a dramatic TV episode would be better than actual drama.

Stiles got up and opened the door to reveal Adrienne, looking completely back to normal.

"Hey!" he said excitedly, "Look at you! You're back to normal!"

"I know!" Adrienne smiled, "Scott gave me a bottle of water last night. Now I feel perfect."

"That is so great."

"It is," Adrienne said, awkwardly looking around her to see who could possibly be watching this interaction at the sheriff's doorstep, "So... uh... is the Sheriff home?"

"Uh no," Stiles shrugged, "I think he's working late at the office tonight."

Adrienne looked over his shoulder one last time, then stared at Stiles intently.

"Perfect."

With one swift motion, Adrienne slammed the door behind her and pushes Stiles up against the nearest wall, kissing him passionately and very deeply. Her hands were rubbing against his shoulders as she tried to get herself closer and closer to him. When they pulled away for a breath, Stiles laughed.

"If I had known you wanted to do this, I would have called you hours ago."

Adrienne smiled and started kissing around his jaw bone to his ear.

"I just wanted to thank you," she whispered in between kisses, "In the best way that I know how."

After she whispered that last part in his ear, Stiles knew that he was a goner at this point. Adrienne was herself again and it was like a sweet relief feeling her against him. This was the first physical interaction between them since the cabin and they had both forgotten how much they missed this. It was nice getting to work on the social aspect of their relationship, but everybody has to work on the physical part every now and then.

Stiles took Adrienne by her waist and turned them around, pinning her up against the wall as he took in her sight, looking her up and down and biting on his lower lip. As they leaned in for another kiss, Adrienne started to grab at his belt, but Stiles grabbed her hand and looked into her eyes.

"Let's take this party upstairs..."

Adrienne chest started to rise at fall, but through her breath, she said, very seductively, "Well... if you insist..."

Scott was sitting on the couch with his school books in his lap, finally having the peace of mind to concentrate on his school work rather than a supernatural curse taking over his sister's body. Adrienne was off to the sheriff's station to find a lead and there was nothing for Scott, or anyone in her family, to worry about. Except for Isaac, of course, who had been trying to figure out a way to tell Scott everything about what he had heard between Stiles and Adrienne. It wasn't going to be easy, but if Isaac wanted to prove that he was loyal to his alpha, then he would tell.

So Isaac threw himself on the couch next to Scott, causing his textbook to fall off his lap.

"Hello to you too," Scott complained, picking up the book.

"Where's Adrienne?" Isaac asked.

Scott looked at him, a bit confused, but shrugged, "She said she needed to talk to the Sheriff about the Nereid's whereabouts; see if she can get some extra eyes on our side."

Isaac nodded approvingly, "Smart," he said, "I'm sure Stiles will appreciate the visit."

Scott's eyebrows furrowed, "Umm... sure?"

"You know, since he hasn't seen her in a while..." Isaac continued.

"Uh huh..." Scott said awkwardly, followed by a pause as he picked up his text book and continued to read.

"I bet he'd be thrilled actually-."

"Okay," Scott said, throwing his textbook aside, "What are you talking about?"

"Me? What am I talking about?" Isaac asked, a bit stunned, then he sighed, "I don't know..." However, Scott's disapproving glare was enough to get Isaac to talk, even without the glowing red eyes, "Okay, so you remember that time when Stiles came to see Adrienne when she was sick, right?" he paused, then continued, "I may have overheard their conversation. Scott... I think they're together."

Scott glared at Isaac. "What?"

"I mean like..." Isaac said awkwardly, readjusting his position on the couch, " _ together _ , together."

Adrienne's older brother shook his head, "That's dumb," he convinced himself, "Stiles just cares for her as a sister, like I do."

"Are you sure?" Isaac asked.

"Totally," Scott confirmed, "I have nothing to worry about. Adrienne's always been very sweet and totally innocent."

The door to Stiles's room flew open as Adrienne kicked it open. Stiles pulled her closer to him as they shuffled into her room. When she broke a heated kiss between them, she slowly closed the door behind her, biting on her lower lip. Stiles started to walk closer to her.

"So I take it you missed me," he said, feeling the curve at her waist with his hand.

Adrienne looked at his hand, then started to feel up his arm to his shoulders, "You have no idea..."

She didn't waste time after that, so she grabbed his face and pushed her lips against his, grinding her body against his, trying to get as much friction between them as she could.

"Clearly, I underestimated you," Stiles whispered against her lips.

Adrienne pulled back for a moment, then looked deep into his eyes, then at his lips, "Just shut up." Then she returned to fiercely kissing him.

"So you're not worried about her?" Isaac asked, "You're not worried about Stiles either?"

"No," Scott shook his head, "He's my best friend and she's my sister. There's no way they would do anything like that."

Adrienne pushed Stiles onto his bed, straddling him and kissing him. She bit her lip in anticipation as she felt his body positively react to her. Her lips left his for a moment as she tore off her shirt, then tended to his before kissing him again.

Stiles started to wrap his arms around her body, pulling him closer to her, but then he grabbed her and rolled them over so he was on top again. Adrienne grinned and bit her bottom lip, arching her back beneath him as she let out a tiny moaning sound.

"and you trust them?" Isaac asked again, just to be sure, "You're not worried about where they are right now?"

"The sheriff's probably there," Scott assured himself, "Odds are, Adrienne went there, met the Sheriff and Stiles and now they're sleuthing, just like Stiles likes to do."

"Scott..." Isaac said, much more seriously this time, "Are you sure about that?"

The honest to God truth was that Scott wasn't exactly sure about all of the things he was saying. He just hoped that Isaac was pulling his leg, trying to worry him for no reason at all. But there was something interesting about the way that Stiles convinced Agent McCall to save Adrienne's life. It was like his own life was on the line as well. Scott would have done something crazy and life threatening for Stiles. Stiles DID do something crazy and life threatening for Scott one time when Scott almost killed himself at the motel. It makes sense that they would be friends. However, Adrienne was always on edge whenever Stiles was around BEFORE the cabin. AFTER the cabin, they were inseparable. They could have been friends OR they could have been romantically involved this whole time. That would explain why Malia kept looking at them all the time.

"Honestly?" Scott asked, "Not at all."

Isaac sighed as he leaned forward, throwing his hands into his hair.

"Do you want to find out?" he asked.

Scott looked up at him for a moment and thought that invading Stiles's privacy was totally not something that friends do to each other. However, if Stiles really was with Adrienne, then he was no friend to Scott. Dating your best friends sister is something you just don't do, he thought.

Isaac and Scott arrived at the back of Stiles's house, at the edge of the woods. They figured driving up there would be easier for Adrienne to hear and then the boys wouldn't get the evidence they need. Scott pointed up to where Stiles's room was. There was a dim lamp on, but that's all they could see through the window except for a fan that was moving on his ceiling. Isaac pointed to his ears, so Scott closed his eyes and listened.

What he heard heavily disturbed him.

There was the sound of a girl moaning out of pleasure. She was gasping and groaning with the occasional seductive laugh in between. Scott could feel his blood start to get a little warmer.

What really set Scott off the edge was what he heard next: "Oh god..." Adrienne moaned, "Stiles..."

That just about confirmed what was going on between them. He could hear the sound of the springs of his bed bouncing with the combined sounds of Adrienne making the kind of noises you only make for one occasion. Stiles and Adrienne were, in fact, doing something that Scott was glad he could only hear instead of see. This made him absolutely furious, so he stopped listening and rushed off into the woods.

From the inside of the house, Adrienne fell beside Stiles. She was completely out of breath with a smile on her face as she moved herself closer to Stiles, resting her head on his chest as he wrapped an arm around her. There wasn't really anything to say. They just enjoyed being next to each other in bed; something that hasn't happened in quite some time.

Suddenly, Stiles heard the sound of several branches snapping from outside his window.

"Did you hear that?" Stiles asked, slightly panicked.

"Hear what?" Adrienne asked, looking around the room.

Stiles picked up some shorts and tried to maneuver his way into them before getting up. He held a hand out to Adrienne to keep her quiet as he listened to the sounds around him. He headed towards his window and opened it slightly, looking straight out into the distance. Adrienne threw Stiles' t-shirt on and came up behind him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Sweetheart..." she whispered.

He touched her hand gently and rubbed it.

"It's fine..." he replied, turning back to her, "Maybe it was just the wind knocking over some branches or something."

"Stiles..." Adrienne said, grabbing his hands in hers, "Baby, your hands are shaking."

Stiles looked down, and to his surprise, she was right. His hands were like two little shivering chihuahuas in her grasp. He carefully removed his hands from hers and started fidgeting with his hair and shorts, hoping it would fade away.

"I'm okay," he nodded.

Adrienne raised her eyebrows and placed her hands on his shoulders, "What did you think was out there?"

He paused, turned to look over his shoulder, then back at Adrienne. If it was who he thought it was outside, then he was in some serious trouble. Stiles hoped and prayed in his mind that he was wrong, but he was still preparing himself for the worst. As he looked into this beautiful girl's eyes, the same eyes that she shared with her brother, he could feel himself being torn in half.

Stiles took a deep breath and said, "Scott..."


	19. My Best Friend's Twin Sister

The sounds of boys throwing things into their lockers and the metal clashing against each other didn't help the anxiety that Stiles was feeling deep inside his bones. Adrienne had said he was shaking the previous night, so after she left, he had tried to find several ways to calm himself down. Unfortunately, nothing would stop the terrible feeling he felt in his chest when he constantly thought of his best friend figuring out his dirty little secret.

Miraculously enough, Stiles had managed to avoid Scott the entire school day. Unfortunately, it was time for lacrosse practice, and there was no way he was going to go through that without seeing Scott.

As Stiles was putting his bag into his locker, he looked around at all the other guys, watching them talk to each other and give them high fives. He had been watching his back all day, waiting for the moment when Scott would come up to him and start shouting in face about how he's a backstabber and this is the highest form of betrayal that is humanly possible. Sleeping with his best friends sister qualifies as the worst thing he could do to his best friend, especially since he kept it secret all this time.

"Stilinski," Scott said, imitating the coach's voice so Stiles would turn around.

"Yeah?" Stiles asked, turning around only to have an encounter with Scott's fist to his face. The other guys had either not cared enough to do anything, or were already on the field, so there wasn't much reaction to the sound of Stiles' body hitting the lockers and clutching his face in pain.

"I saw you! I heard you!" Scott shouted, "I know what you've been doing with Adrienne! I know everything!"

"Okay, but before you say anything-."

"My SISTER!" Scott kept yelling over and over again, "How could you!? I TRUSTED you! You are my BEST FRIEND! How could you sleep with my SISTER!? My TWIN. SISTER."

"Look, I know I probably did the worst thing possible to a friend-."

"And not only that," Scott continued, "THEN you lied about it! To my face! You said nothing like that happened between the two of you! How could you lie to me, man!? I thought we could tell each other anything!? I think sleeping with my sister qualifies as something that you should tell me!"

"Scott, would you just listen to me!?" Stiles yelled back, causing Scott to take a couple steps back from him, the angry and hurt expression still on his face, "Look... I'm a jerk. I can't take back all the stupid things I've done over the last few weeks... but you gotta listen to me... this isn't just some hook up... Adrienne means more to me than that-."

"Don't you tell me about how much she means to you," Scott spat.

"Okay, I get it," Stiles said calmly, "You're mad. You're mad at me, you're probably mad at Adrienne-."

"Don't tell me how I feel," he said again.

Stiles nodded and took a pause for Scott to calm himself down, "but you should know that..." he wanted to tell Scott everything. He's been wanting to tell the infamous story of his adventure with Adrienne at the cabin since it happened. However, that wasn't going to be what Scott would want to hear. So he was going to say 'I love her'. Scott would only disapprove and tell him to end it to keep her safe. Instead, he chose his words a little differently, "that our friendship means the world to me, Scott... and I'm really sorry I kept this from you..."

Scott started to get a little less tense as he curiously looked at Stiles. He thought for sure he was gonna fight for her, but he easily gave in to their friendship like that. It was because their bond was much stronger than that of any other relationship.

"I can't forgive you that easily," Scott said quietly, "but I do want you to end things with her as soon as possible... before she gets too attached."

Stiles could physically feel this command affecting him. It was like Scott had his heart in his hand and gave it just a little squeeze. So he just nodded instead of saying anything.

"It's too easy for anyone to get hurt in the midst of everything that's happening," Scott said, "I just really want to make sure that you both are safe... even though you're sort of dead to me at the moment... but still... just end it with her. I don't want her to get hurt."

She's gonna be more than hurt after I do this, Stiles thought. It wasn't an easy thing to decide in his head, but in the end, it was a memory of Adrienne that reminded him why she wouldn't fall for him in the first place. It was because she didn't want to see anyone get hurt. Scott, being her brother, obviously thought the same way. While he loved her, he had to figure out how to let her go.

Stiles had spent the majority of lacrosse practice thinking of ways to break up with Adrienne without actually hurting her. That was going to be almost impossible. What was going to be worse was how much this was going to hurt himself in the end. Nobody was going to be happy, except for Scott, maybe.

After lacrosse practice finished, he had seen Adrienne in the stands, watching the both of them and cheering them on. So Stiles walked up to her after he had showered and changed and took her to the side.

"Hey..." Stiles said quietly.

"Hey," she smiled, "You look really good out there..." she looked around innocently, and when she saw that no one was watching, she bit on her bottom lip, " _ Really _ good..."

He smiled at her and sheepishly looked down at the ground.

"I-uh... I'm glad we got to see each other last night," she said with a wink, "It's like taking this whole sneaking around thing to a whole new level..."

"Yeah," he nodded, "Listen... about that..."

"Are you okay?" Adrienne asked, trying to move her head around so he'd look in her eyes, "You kinda seem out of it right now. What's going on?"

"Listen," Stiles sighed, "I just... got some news from my dad... he's starting to notice some really weird things going on with the water system... I think it has to do with this Nereid that's after you... and it got me thinking-."

"Yes?"

Stiles scratched the back of his head, then took a big deep breath. This scared Adrienne only slightly, "I just got worried about you... I still am worried about you... and I think I get it now... why you pushed me away for so long... you only wanted to protect me... well I think it'd be best if we kept everyone around us safe by not being together."

Adrienne blinked a few times, as if she didn't properly hear what he said.

"Stiles, what are you talking about?" Adrienne asked, slightly choked up.

"I know this hurts," he assured her, "trust me, it hurts me too-."

"Then why are you doing this?" she said, the tears starting to form in her eyes.

"Oh god," Stiles panicked, running his fingers through his hair, "I'm just trying to keep everyone safe. We're both better off for now if we just spend some time apart."

"Bullshit," she snapped, the tears spilling down her cheeks, "You're just a liar and a jerk... God, I don't know why I let myself give in. Why I let myself fall for you..."

"Adrienne-."

"Just... go..." Adrienne held her hands up as if to block him away from her, so he gave up and started walking away towards his jeep.

Adrienne hoped that if she closed her eyes tight enough, she'd wake up in Stiles's bed and none of this would have ever happened. But instead, when she opened her eyes, the whole image of a Beacon Hill's late afternoon was blurred with the tears that were constantly building up in her eyes. She could feel her throat clenching up and her breath getting faster and faster. She hadn't cried this hard in ages and it felt so weird to experience this again. She walked all the way home that day. Night was just starting to fall when she finally got home.

As the heartbroken girl stepped into her house, she turned her head to the side and saw Scott standing there in the living room, clutching his phone in one hand and looking extremely worried at his sister. She shook her head and ran straight into his embrace, crying into his shoulder and getting tear stains on his t-shirt.

For once, as Scott wrapped his arms around his little sister, he felt like she needed him. He must have been the only thing happy left in her life and what she needed in that moment was for her brother to hold her and tell her that the boy is an idiot and she is totally worth it. It was certainly part of the family fantasy Adrienne had always imagined in Arizona, but instead, she just wanted him to hold her. She didn't want him to ask questions or anything else. She just wanted her brother to hold her to the ground. It was the last he could do considering that the whole thing was his fault. Yet, the thought didn't even cross his mind.


	20. Ways to Forget

Adrienne McCall created a list in a little notebook that she kept in the bottom drawer of her bed-side table. It was in the back of the notebook, on the cardboard, and it said "Ways to Forget". Each of the phrases below the title had a a little box drawn next to them. If Adrienne was going to survive each and every day, let alone facing the Nereid, then she was going to have to make some adjustments in her life so a broken heart wasn't one of her problems. It started with moving seats in the English classroom. Instead of sitting next to Stiles in the back of the classroom, Adrienne would sit next to Lydia in the front as Lydia glanced back at Stiles with pride and disgust.

So far, switching seats in English class seemed like the only thing she could do for a start. It was a bit dramatic to clear out her wardrobe, cut off her hair, and delete every song you've ever listened to together. Plus, she had a bigger support team than she thought she had.

As the California was shining at its highest peak, students gathered outside at the lunch tables, but as Adrienne approached her usual table with her tray in hand, she caught sight of her brother, who gave her a welcoming smile. What bothered her was that Stiles didn't even notice that she approached him.

"Adrienne!" Kira shouted, waving her hand at a table on the other side of the field, right under a shady tree.

Adrienne shrugged at Scott and walked over to Lydia, who was sitting with Malia and Kira.

"I literally love you," Adrienne gasped as she sat next to Kira, "All of you. You didn't have to do that."

"Scott and Isaac don't mind," Kira said, glancing over at the boys table, then at her tray, "Nobody should have to deal with their ex. You guys only broke up a few days ago, anyway."

"Thanks..." Adrienne grinned, "I appreciate it..."

Lydia looked up hopefully, "So when are we all going shopping? I'm free this weekend."

"What?" Adrienne asked.

"Usually after break ups, Lydia likes to go shopping," Kira said, "It's kinda fun. We really should go."

"I don't know..." Adrienne shrugged.

"You're going," Lydia said, pointing her fork at her, "You're going whether you like it or not and that's final. Hmmm?"

Malia and Kira, along with Lydia, all leaned in towards her with smiles on their faces. Adrienne tried to hold her composure, but then started to grin, "Well... the Prom was just announced... so it wouldn't hurt to pick a dress out in advance."

The girls all cheered and started to chat amongst themselves in hushed tones about what they were going to do. After school, Lydia was going to take everyone in her car to Macy's at the mall. Then, they were going to find the best dresses they could for the Prom. Even if Adrienne was going without a date, Lydia was dead set on finding a guy to go with her.

"I don't even know what color to start with," Adrienne told Lydia as she scanned through the high hung dresses, "Stiles wanted to wear something like..." she pulled out a dress from the rack, "this dark blue/green color. He said it resembled the lake where we saved each others lives."

"Do you like that color?" Lydia asked.

Adrienne glanced at it and cringed, "No... not at all... I thought that was a stupid idea."

"Well, the things we do for love, no?" she shrugged, "So what color do you want?"

Adrienne looked at the strawberry blonde in a very peculiar way. She really hadn't been asked what she wants in a while. Most of the time, she hasn't had to ask, or people would force what she wants out of her. This was a bit weird, but in a good way. As she scanned through the dresses, she caught sight of a sheer cloth sticking out of the bunch of dresses. When she pushed it aside, she saw a dress with a one shoulder strap with sequins going down the torso.

"Red…” Adrienne said sheepishly as she pointed to a dress.

Lydia nodded, "Perfect. Take it. Let's see how it looks on you."

The girls reached the dressing rooms, watching Malia and Kira come out of their dressing rooms. Kira was in a beautiful light green dress. It was strapless and as the corset ended, the fabric fell down like a waterfall of green down to the floor. Malia came out of the dressing room in a purple dress with a sweetheart cut and thin straps, a sheer black fabric coating the entire figure of the dress with sequins at the bust. 

"What about your dress, Lydia?" Kira asked.

"Oh, my mom had mine specially ordered for me," Lydia said, tossing her hair behind her shoulder, "It's pink."

"Not surprised," Malia laughed, turning around and glancing at her reflection in the mirror, "Is this one too much?"

"No!" Adrienne insisted, running up to her, “It’s says I’m sweet, but I bite.”

“You think so?” she asked, looking at herself from the back, “I don’t want to come across as too flirty, since I’m only going with Isaac as a friend.”

"It doesn’t matter what you wear,” Lydia sighed, “He can’t make a move on you unless you allow it. You’re a woman. Embrace your power.”

Malia nodded, feeling satisfied with the dress on her body.

"But Adrienne..." Lydia said, circling the McCall twin, "We're going to need to do something about your wardrobe if we're going to find us both a prom date before it's too late."

"Wait what?" Adrienne's eyes grew wide.

"Don't get me wrong, the sweetheart, girl next door look is endearing... but it's not going to get you a temporary date," Lydia shrugged, "Go find something downstairs to change in to."

"Lydia, I don't know-."

"Don't know what? Part of moving on is starting over. Change things up. Make yourself pop out. If you stay looking like this, Stiles is going to think that you're still hung up on him."

"Which I am..." Adrienne muttered.

"But we don’t want him to know that," Lydia snapped, "It's time to pick yourself back up and show him who's boss. You're a fucking Naiad. You could kill everyone within 100 feet of you and you don't even show it. Adrienne, you are more badass than you think."

Adrienne couldn't even open her mouth before Lydia walked away. She didn't want to argue back in the first place because Lydia was right. Technically, she wasn't right about the temporary date thing, but she was right about changing her look. It was a new chapter in her life and it was about time that she changed her style. She had considered the sweeter retro look with fun skirts, collared shirts, and flats. The idea intrigued her, so she made her way down the escalator and to the clothes rack, where she began browsing through little sweaters. When she looked up slightly to find a sale sign, who should she see in the cologne department but her big brother, trying to figure out scents without being too overwhelmed. She laughed at herself, but the humor quickly ended when she heard another voice.

"I think Kira's more into the woodsy smell," Stiles said, walking towards Scott, snatching the bottle from him, "If she didn't, she wouldn't be dating you."

"What if I wanna smell like an ocean breeze?" Scott joked, picking up the bottle and spraying it in Stiles’s face.

Stiles blinked several times, frowning. “Maybe I don’t wanna smell like an ocean breeze. Maybe I wanna smell like…” he scanned the cologne shelf, picking up a bottle and reading the label, “Eternity.”

He took the bottle and sprayed himself, glaring at Scott. As he placed the bottle back down, he saw a couple of girls walking past him. One of them eyed Stiles and he didn't seem to hesitate to give her a little wave back. Adrienne felt her whole entire face turn red. She immediately flipped her hair as she turned around to find a cute little sweater with a dog’s face on it next to a leather jacket. Two could play at this game, she thought. She snatched the black leather jacket, strutting up the escalator.

"Somebody find me some leather pants," Adrienne demanded, throwing the jacket in Lydia's lap. Lydia looked up at Adrienne and gave her an approving nod.

There was not a single boy's eye in all of Beacon Hills High School that wasn't staring at Adrienne McCall when she strutted into school the first thing Monday morning. With her black leather jacket, ripped white shirt, ripped jeans, and combat boots, who wouldn't be staring at her? Even Stiles had to stop himself from turning to look at her, for fear of doing something he'd regret. She felt powerful, like she had so much just as her fingertips that she didn’t know how to control.

By the time the school day had ended, Adrienne knew who would be the target of her desires. 

“Grab him,” Lydia whispered to Adrienne as she leaned against the lockers, looking right at Will who was socializing just outside the boy’s locker room, “Show him who’s boss.”

“Got it,” Adrienne nodded, forming that sinister grin on her face. She marched right up to him, grabbed him by the shirt and had him in the nearest empty office in seconds, locking the door behind her. Her lips met his with a desperate need.

"Whoa, whoa," Will gasped, grabbing onto her jacket, "What's this about? Is this about Stiles?"

She shrugged, "So what if it is? It's been a while anyway and I need to forget about him," she brought her lips towards his again, but he backed up, so she groaned, "Look, I haven't had sex in weeks. Are you going to help me out or am I going to have to take care of my needs myself?"

Will's eyes grew wide as he looked at her chocolate brown eyes, looking at how her body moved beneath her new wardrobe. Suddenly, he brought his lips to hers, picking her up and wrapping her legs around his waist and setting her down on the desk. She laid down beneath him and he attached his lips to her neck, his hand feeling the skin beneath her shirt.

"You should know," Adrienne gasped, "I'm only going to keep this up until I find somebody better..."

When she moaned and sat up, grinding her body against his, he started to growl aggressively, kissing up her jawline until his lips met her ear.

"I don't give a fuck..." he whispered, his hands finding a way underneath her shorts.

After that afternoon in the room with Will, Adrienne would often bring him home most nights when her parents weren't at home. They would do the usual, and then he'd leave. Neither of them were upset with the arrangement, and neither of them were looking for anything more than sex. He agreed to take her to the prom only if she'd put out, and she hadn't given him any sign that she wouldn't.

One night, after Will left the house with nothing on but his jeans and a smile on his face, Scott had come home from Stiles's house a little bit early and decided to figure out what was going on. He barged into Adrienne's room, seeing her sheets an absolute mess, her hair tied up in a ponytail and her, wearing nothing but a big t-shirt.

"Adrienne," Scott said, "What are you doing to yourself?"

"It's more like, what is he doing to me," she giggled, looking at herself in the mirror.

"No, I mean it, Adrienne," Scott said angrily, "What's going on? One minute you're your usual self, now you're dressing differently, sleeping around-."

"Hey, if I were sleeping around, different guys would be leaving here each night," Adrienne shrugged, “I’m trying out something new, seeing if I like it. So far I do.”

"But this “new” isn’t you," Scott sighed, "I just wanna know if you're okay. I'm your brother and I'm concerned. I don't know if you're doing this because you're hurt or if you're angry or upset about anything. We don't talk much nowadays and I feel like I'm missing something from you."

"Well you're not," she shrugged, "I'm fine. Everything's fine."

"Are you sure?" Scott asked again, "Because you're not sitting with me at lunch anymore. Did I do something wrong?"

"Scott," she sighed, "Calm down. It's not you. Honestly."

"Adrienne, I know you better than that," he pried, "Something is wrong and you're going to tell me."

Adrienne banged her hand on the table and sat back in her chair.

"God dammit," Adrienne spat, "Do you wanna know what's been wrong with me? You really wanna know? I fell in love with Stiles... that’s what happened."

There was dead silence between them.

"I know..." Scott whispered.

"And it ruined me," Adrienne continued, not hearing him, "I fell hard and way too fast and I lived in this fantasy forever so when it was all ripped away from me, it made no sense whatsoever, so here I am, left confused and wondering what the hell I’m supposed to do-." she paused for a moment, "... did you just say... you know?"

Scott nodded, "Yeah... I found out on my own... and..." he took a deep breath, "I told Stiles break up with you... it wasn't because he doesn't love you or anything like that... if anything, he wants to be with you more than ever-."

"What?" Adrienne breathed.

"I know what I did was bad, but I was just trying to-."

"Let me guess? Protect me? Isn't that what everyone wants to do nowadays? Let's all just protect Adrienne and not let her have a life!"

"That's not what I meant-."

"You stand there and you insist on making sure that I'm okay. You see something wrong with me and your impulse is to fix it and yet you're the very reason why I am absolutely not okay! This is  your fault."

"I didn't think you'd react this way," Scott explained, "Please, just hear me out. You'll see I had good intentions."

"Yeah right.”

"Adrienne-."

"Get out,” she said coldly, crossing her arms and staring down at nothing. Scott felt the chill in the room and slowly left, closing the door behind him.

Everything went dark. Adrienne had cried herself to sleep that night and Scott simply stood by the door, trying to make up for the horrible thing that he did. Eventually, however, he left. There was no mending the situation. There was no way Adrienne was going to even consider forgiving him for a while.

As Adrienne slept, clutching her sheets in her fists, she heard a faint voice in her dreams, whispering to her, like a siren.

"Listen to me..." it whispered, "Isn't this neat? Wouldn't you think my powers are complete? Wouldn't you think I'm the nymph who has everything?"

Adrienne rolled over and threw crushed her pillow over the back of her head, but the voice didn't stop. It rang just as clearly as it did before.

"But who cares? No big deal... I want you..." it hissed, but it didn't stop there, "You wanna be where Stiles is. You wanna see him happy strolling around on the street. Come and find me Adrienne. Down where I hide, down at the pool, down where I plot against you and your friends, wandering free. So come and join me. Be a part of my world... or suffer and be a part of HIS world."

The darkness in Adrienne's dream was starting to be submerged in water, the bubbles rising as she got deeper and deeper into the water. Something was swimming towards her. It was a woman with long white hair and white skin with bright blue eyes. She stopped in front of Adrienne and barred her teeth at her, then swam away, carrying Stiles behind her, who was lifeless and pale.

With a sharp gasp, Adrienne woke up and it was still dark outside. The time read 2:30 am, but that didn't matter. What also didn't matter was how Adrienne currently felt about her brother. Any ass-kicking that she needed to get done would simply have to be done at a different time. She knocked, fiercely and quickly, on Scott's door until he opened it, his eyes both dead and wide awake at the same time.

"Adrienne," he breathed, "Are you-."

"Good, you're here," she sighed, then peeked her head into the room, "Where's Isaac?"

Scott looked behind him, "He was just..." the room was completely empty. Not a single soul was moving inside, not even in the bathroom, "here..."

"Get dressed," Adrienne panicked, "We have to find him NOW."

"Whoa, whoa," Scott halted, "What's wrong?"

"I had a dream last night," Adrienne explained, "The Nereid came to me in a dream and threatened me. She told me to go to down to a pool and find her or she'd start killing people. I think they took Isaac."

"In the middle of the night?" Scott asked.

Adrienne nodded. At this moment in her life, Adrienne didn't take much seriously anymore, but the look in her eyes that Scott saw when she believed that Isaac had been captured was something that, not even he, could defy. Scott nodded back and closed the door, quickly opening it a second later.

"Come on," he said, taking her arm, "We gotta go."

It was too much to sneak past their parents bedrooms at this hour without getting caught, so Scott ran to the window and hoisted his sister onto his back, then jumped out the window, landing square on his feet, then putting her down. The mere thought that Isaac, or even Stiles, could be hurt, was something that killed the both of them. At least they had that in common in order to do the one thing they do best; save their friends.


	21. Naiads

Scott remembered what was happening to the town's water supply before all of this drama happened. It was all being traced to one location; an outdoor pool. That's where Scott drove his motorcycle, with Adrienne clinging onto him from behind. When they got there, Scott had Kira on speakerphone.

"Malia wasn’t answering her phone,” Kira said, sounding out of breath, “I’m at her house. Mr. Tate doesn’t even know where she went.”

"Oh god, she was taken too," Adrienne whispered.

"Lydia and I are on our way," Kira assured them.

"Kira," Scott said.

"Yes?"

He pressed his lips together, then sighed, "Be careful... okay?"

There was a slight pause before they heard, "Okay..."

The line went dead and Scott hung up his phone. Adrienne and Scott proceeded towards the pool. There were tubes extended from all sides, all filling up and overflowing the pool. Tied to the lifeguard chair was Stiles, lying there, unconscious.

"Stiles!" Adrienne shouted, but Scott covered her mouth.

Stiles opened his eyes slowly and saw Scott and Adrienne standing there.

"Scott!" Stiles called back, but he lost all of his breath when he saw her looking at him like that, worry spread across her face, "Adrienne..."

Adrienne and Stiles looked at each other. They didn't say anything, but they just looked at each other. That was the first time they made serious eye-contact since their break up.

"We're gonna get you out of here," Scott said, running towards him.

"No, no!" Stiles shouted, "Don't! She'll get you too."

"Who will get me?" Scott asked.

"Why me, of course..."

From the shadows, a woman stepped out, wearing a white top and an ocean blue high-low skirt with black heels that clicked menacingly against the pavement. What surprised Scott and Adrienne most of all was that she had bright strawberry blonde hair.

"Malia?" Scott asked.

"Close," she shrugged, "Don't worry, your friend is fine. I'm just occupying her body at the moment. My name's Nerida. Nice to meet you."

"Nerida..." Adrienne repeated.

Nerida turned and her bright eyes lit up like a blinking car light, "Hello Oceanid. I see you got my message."

"Let Stiles and Isaac go," Adrienne demanded, "I'm the one you want."

Nerida chuckled, "I'm not quite finished with Stiles just yet. However, if it's Isaac you'd like to see, then..."

Nerida motioned towards the shadows and out appeared Isaac, his eyes also glowing blue as he stood protectively by her side.

"You're out of luck," she giggled, "Isaac's not available. My Nereid is, though. I'm sure he'd love to get to know the two of you."

"Isaac..." Adrienne shook her head, "What have they done to you?"

"Do you like it?" Nerida bragged, "I can possess any human body we want all to stop our common enemy.”

"The Oceanids," Scott hissed.

"Bingo!" Nerida clapped, stepping towards Scott and touching his arms and shoulders, "You've got a smart brother, Adrienne! He's also very fit… Imagine what kind of things we could accomplish with a Nereid in his mind."

A quick whip of water whacked Nerida on the hand and she gasped in pain. Adrienne frowned with her fingers in the air.

"Don't touch my brother," Adrienne spat.

"Feisty, are we?" Nerida pouted, "That's too bad. I hoped I would have to do this the easy way... ah well... I guess you leave me no choice."

Isaac climbed up the lifeguard chair and grabbed Stiles, pulling him down and giving him to Nerida, who squeezed his arm, causing him pain.

"Surrender to us or he falls into the water and drowns," Nerida hissed.

"I'll stop you," Adrienne protested, "You only have one follower. You can’t win."

Nerida laughed, "Only one?"

It was like an army of zombies were coming out of the shadows. Each and every one of them were lifeless. They had plain white skin and white hair with their matching blue eyes. With each footstep they made, they could have made the earth shake just by walking. They scared Adrienne only a little bit, but Scott had no fear. Adrienne looked at him and he touched the small of her back as if to say 'wait for it'.

The Nereid in the front of the pack suddenly fell to his feet, a shot of electricity making him seize on the ground. In his place stood Kira with her hand stretched out and a smile on her face. A large scream came and all of them fell to their knees, grabbing their ears. Two of them bleeding out of their ears and falling to the ground. At the back of the Nereids was Lydia, grinning. Adrienne raised her palm towards Nerida.

"Let go of Stiles or die," she said, "Your choice."

"Oh honey," Nerida said, throwing Stiles to Reid, "There's no way we’re going out of this without a decent fight."

Scott's eyes began to glow red and Kira's turned yellow. Instantly, the Nereids and the fox and the wolf started facing off against each other. There were only 10 of them total, at least that's what it seemed like. The real problem was facing against Isaac because they couldn't kill him, not with the Nereid still in his body.

Meanwhile, Nerida and Adrienne took this to the water's edge, throwing every bit of supernatural power they had each other. Water was flying all over them, but of course, being drenched in water wasn't something that really bothered them. Everything that Adrienne threw at Nerida, she simply blocked and threw out of her way.

"You have skill," Nerida said, stalking towards Adrienne, "But don't you know that skill can only get you so far when the water obeys MY every command?"

From over Nerida's shoulder, Adrienne could see Lydia and Kira fighting with all they had just to save someone they didn't even know for as long. Scott and Isaac were fighting each other now, throwing each other onto the pavement and growling in pain as they did so, only to get back up and start over. That person fighting with every last bone in his body was her brother. If he could be that brave, there was no reason she couldn't be

Adrienne scoffed and shook her head, pushing Nerida back as she walked towards her, "You are so naïve to think that water only comes from one place." She raised her hands in the air and tore them down, as though she were ripping a curtain in front of her. Water then came from mid air and she froze it, charging it towards Nerida. She ducked and the ice hit a Nereid in the eye, falling the ground as Kira stabbed it.

"Stop this!" Nerida screamed.

Everybody looked to her and saw her holding a knife against Stiles's neck.

"Surrender or he dies!"

"No!" Adrienne screamed back.

The knife was pressing up against Stiles's neck. She could feel the fear inside him and it only made her weaker. The only way to defeat Nerida now would be to give in. There was no telling if she was going to make it out alive, but if her friends were willing to sacrifice for her, then she had to learn how to sacrifice for them. She squeezed her eyes shut and focused every bit of her energy forward. When she opened her eyes, they were bright blue, almost like ice.

"Nerida!" a different voice from Adrienne's mouth called like demons gathering in one place. Then she cleared her throat and breathed, "Did you know that the human body is 65% water?"

Scott smiled at the look of Adrienne. Her eyes were glowing blue, but her voice was the same. She didn't feel any different, but she felt much more powerful. She raised her hand and Nerida instantly started choking, dropping the knife and falling to her knees.

"Adrienne don't!" Lydia warned, "She's still in Malia’s body!"

Adrienne looked back at Lydia, who was taken aback by the ferocious look in her bright blue eyes. She lifted her hand and Nerida was raised in the air and she dropped her at her knees.

"Let's take this to the water, shall we?" Adrienne asked.

She used her powers to pick her up and throw her into the water and Adrienne jumped in after her. Adrienne physically grabbed Nerida under the water and stared into her eyes. With the other hand, she placed it on the side of her head. The water began to shake until it burst upwards, carrying the both of them into the air as Scott, Kira, Stiles, and Lydia watched in amazement. The water was circling them until it calmed and brought them back down. Malia's body fell into Adrienne's arms while the white skinned, white haired, blue eyed, figure of Nerida stood there. Adrienne passed Malia's body off to Scott, who dragged her out of the water. Nerida wrapped her arms around Adrienne's neck and started to squeeze, but Adrienne had something on the side of her belt. She took the knife and stabbed her side, causing her blue blood to spill as she screamed. Slowly, Nerida dissolved into the water and evaporated into thin air.

Breathlessly, everybody looked up into the sky to make sure that it really was over. Scott had Isaac tied up with Kira standing beside him. Adrienne felt the surge of power leave her body until she felt weak in the water. She started to sink down beneath the surface with her eyes closed.

"Adrienne!" Stiles shouted.

Scott looked between the two of them and quickly untied Stiles. Immediately, he ran straight into the pool and grabbed Adrienne, bringing her to the surface as she gasped, holding onto Stiles. When she blinked enough times, she saw who was holding her, and for those few little moments, she was at peace. Everything was okay. Unfortunately, there was this thing called reality that she had to stick to.

"Stiles..." she said, "You can let go of me now."

"Right," he said awkwardly, letting her go and swimming away from her, even though it killed him to be proud of her and not show it at all. She helped save him today and he couldn't even be thankful. Scott couldn't help but think that this was all his fault.


	22. Last Chance

Scott was holding Isaac by the shoulders as he sat, tied up, in the sofa at the McCall house. Melissa and Agent McCall were standing in the other room, heavily confused as to what could possibly be so important at 4 in the morning. Adrienne had made sure that Isaac’s inhibitor hadn't made any unexpected visits since Nerida's death. Adrienne positioned herself in front of Isaac and placed her hand on his head.

"Just relax," she said quietly.

"Adrienne, what are you doing?" Agent McCall protested.

"Dad," Scott calmed, "Just watch."

"Are you ready?" Adrienne asked Isaac. He nodded. He opened her eyes and Adrienne placed her other hand around his neck carefully. She closed her own eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened them, her eyes were glowing blue, which caused Agent McCall to jump in his skin. Her fingernails started pulsing blue as Isaac's eyes started to retreat from her gaze.

"Isaac," Adrienne whispered, "Almost done, just look at me."

His gaze met hers again until Isaac's chest pulsed out, then he sank back into the sofa calmly.

"Well?" he asked, "Did it work?"

Adrienne looked at him and she smiled, "100% werewolf."

Isaac cheered as Kira untied him and Scott patted his sister on the back. After everyone had left the house, Agent McCall waited until the door shut before scolding his daughter.

"What do you think you're doing, young lady?" he said.

"Dad, I have control over it," Adrienne said excitedly, "I can control the spirit state that I have."

"You should have seen her," Scott smiled, "She saved everyone today and she did it all by herself. It was amazing."

"How I see it is that you're recklessly using your powers," Agent McCall said, "and I won't stand for it. The more you play with this, the worse it will get."

"But dad-."

"I don't want to start an argument over this," he protested, "Let's keep this conversation short and sweet. You're going back to Arizona."

"What?!" Adrienne and Scott shouted.

"You can't do that! We just found her!" Scott argued.

"Raf," Melissa pleaded.

"No arguments I said!" Agent McCall shouted, "I'm keeping my daughter safe and I am getting her out of this town whether she likes it or not!"

Adrienne gasped as her bottom lip quivered, then she ran up the stairs and slammed her door shut, crying herself to sleep once again, except this time, with the promise of a better dream than her doomed reality.

Several weeks had passed since everything calmed down in Beacon Hills. It was a big surprise to Scott and his pack that another supernatural threat hadn't occurred since Adrienne defeated the Nereids. The only problem was that things seemed a little weird. Adrienne was trying to avoid being social and happy with her friends in order to make her moving away much easier. She sat by herself and she didn't talk to anyone as she finished up her classes for the year. Even though Scott was seemingly okay with the romance that happened between his best friend and his sister, nothing changed. Stiles and Adrienne still avoided eye contact or even passing each other in the hall. Nothing was the same.

Adrienne could smell fumes of hairspray roaming the air from all directions. It was prom night. Supposedly, it was the biggest night of every young person in Beacon Hills, but not for Adrienne McCall. Everything was dark and lonely. She just sat in her room with a textbook in her lap, reading it over and over again without even caring what the words said.

Scott knocked on the door of her room.

"What?" she spat.

Scott opened the door slightly, wearing his tuxedo with a light green tie that matched the color of the dress Kira bought laying lazily over his shoulders.

"Look at that," Scott smiled, "I got a whole syllable out of you."

Adrienne looked up from her book and gave him a small smile. "You look nice..."

He looked down at himself, then shrugged, "You should see Isaac. The purple theme Malia chose looks really good."

"I'm sure it does..." Adrienne said quietly, letting her eyes drift down into her book.

Scott walked further into her room, still looking at her to see if she'd making a disapproving glare. She didn't, so he kept moving inward toward her closet. Hanging on the door was a dress bag. He zipped it open and saw a beautiful dark red dress with a halter top and little pearls around the neck and waist line.

"You would look amazing in this," Scott said.

Adrienne glanced over at it and shook her head, "Yeah well... too bad nobody will ever get to see me in it..."

"Are you sure?" Scott asked, "There's still time. The girls aren't getting here for another half-an-hour, and even then they can come and help you finish getting ready."

"Scott," Adrienne sighed, "I'm not having a bunch of girls over here making me look pretty so they can all pity the fact that I'm moving. I'm not in the mood."

He pursed his lips and nodded, starting to leave the room.

"Well that's really too bad," Scott said, "Cause Stiles guessed which color you'd wear and he was right. It'd be a shame for him to go alone, don't you think?"

Adrienne looked up slowly from her book, "but I thought-."

"That I didn't approve?" Scott raised his eyebrows.

"I mean, yeah, but still..."

"Adrienne," he said, sitting on the edge of her bed, "You have no idea how wrong I was and how sorry I am for what I did. It's not the stone age, you CAN make your own decisions and you have the right to be happy, especially after you saved all of us."

"But I'm moving. What's the point?"

"The point is," Scott continued, "you shouldn't be upset before you leave here. We want you to be happy tonight. We'll make it part 1 of your going away party."

"There's more than one part?" Adrienne asked, afraid.

"According to Lydia, Malia, and Kira? Yeah," Scott laughed and Adrienne laughed along with him.

"Oh, I should have known they were up to something," Adrienne giggled.

Scott stood up and straightened out his jacket, "So, Stiles is coming at 6. It is now 5. Lydia and Kira are coming at 5:30. They told me if you are showered with your hair dried and dressed, then they will come and take the rest from there."

Adrienne smiled at Scott, "Okay."

"It's up to you," he said, leaving the room and peaking his head through, "And Stiles predicts that you will wear something stunning that will make his heart stop that moment he lays eyes on you."

Adrienne laughed and threw her face into her hands.

Scott shrugged, "You may be broken up, but he sure loves you."

A pillow was thrown at the door and Scott laughed, closing the door behind him.

Adrienne got up and went to the door, taking the dress bag off the hanger and revealing her prom dress in all its glory. When she bought that, she had a beautiful vision of being happy and confident with a bright future in front of her. Now that most of those things had been taken away from her, it was hard to imagine herself in it again. But then she thought of her friends, wearing their dresses with the tags hanging from the back, laughing and admiring each other. Those were positive memories, and no matter how hard she tried to shut them out by ignoring them, she couldn't. It was time to stop crying because she's saying goodbye, but smiling because she has something to miss when she leaves. Besides, it was her last chance to be with Stiles before moving day.

An hour had passed and Adrienne came down, her hair perfectly curled by Lydia, her makeup done down to every last detail by Kira, and her confidence restored thanks to Malia. Each girl came down the stairs as each parent clapped and snapped a photo of her and her date. It was Malia first with Isaac, then Kira with Scott, then Lydia, who had surprisingly invited Will. Finally Adrienne came down the stairs. When she saw the crowd of parents come into view, she didn't see her dad there. What she did see was Stiles standing at the bottom of the staircase, waiting for her, watching her as his eyes got bigger and bigger with each step she took.

There was a flash as Adrienne touched Stiles's hand. Melissa put the camera down from her face and smiled.

"It appears as though I'm a really good guesser," Stiles said proudly, showing off the corsage he bought her and the tie he was wearing that matched her dress perfectly.

"But how?" she gasped as he put the corsage on her wrist.

"Well... contrary to what you might think..." he whispered, tightening the string around her wrist, "I know you better than you know yourself."

After this, Stiles took her by the hand and walked her over to the living room for group pictures. As Stiles placed her in front of him, she ended up near Will. He looked over his shoulder and chuckled.

"No hard feelings?" he asked.

Adrienne shook her head and laughed, leaning back into Stiles as he wrapped his fingers around hers, smiling towards the camera. When she looked back at the photos, she noticed herself looking just as Stiles's side, breathing him in and enjoying his company. Melissa thought that was the most beautiful picture of them all.

In the Beacon Hills Gym, there were bright lights everywhere with stars hanging from the ceiling (the theme being "A Night in the Clouds" courtesy of Lydia Martin). Occasionally, a machine on the ground would release fog during slow songs so the gym would feel like it was floating in the sky. Each time a slow dance song came on, Adrienne would sit down and rest her head on her hand, not wanting to join in that particular festivity. Stiles would go over to Scott and have a conversation with him while Kira and Malia laughed at Lydia and Will dancing together. Whenever the music picked back up, the group would return to the dance floor together.

When the tunes slowed down again and the floor fogged up, Adrienne looked at the ground, sighed, waved "bye" to Stiles, then sat down at the table. This time, Stiles followed her.

"Alright," he huffed, "What up?"

"What?" she asked harshly.

"If you haven't noticed, I've been trying to have a nice moment with you and every time the mood softens, you straight up leave," Stiles complained.

"Well maybe I just don't feel like getting THAT emotional," Adrienne crossed her arms and legs.

"Because you're leaving," Stiles finished, "I know, I know. You've been complaining about it for weeks. And yes, even though you've ignored me, I've noticed. I know this upsets you and I know you're shutting out all of the emotions you could possibly have to make yourself feel better about leaving. But guess what? You’re leaving!"

Adrienne sat up, looking around at who might be listening.

"You're leaving your brother and all your friends... and you're leaving me..." he said quieter, "but that doesn't mean you shouldn't enjoy the time you have now."

There was silence and Adrienne didn't respond. She just sank back into her chair and didn't look at him. Stiles hands clenched into balls at his hands.

"Adrienne McCall," he demanded, "Please get on the dance floor and fucking dance with me for the last time... to a song that I picked out just for you."

Adrienne lifted her eyebrows.

"You picked this song for me...?" she asked.

He smiled and nodded, then he put his hand out and she took it. He lead her to dance floor and pulled her close to him. She rested her head on his shoulder and wrapped her arm around him while holding one of his hands, swaying slowly to the song about how it was their last dance. As Adrienne started to listen to the words of the song, talking about how he'd give up anything to have one last dance with her, her eyes started to tear up and it made her hold onto him tighter. Stiles kissed the side of her hair, the lowered his lips to her ear.

"I love you..." he whispered.

She moved her head back and rested her hands on his shoulders, looking at him with tears in her eyes. She leaned in and kissed him on the lips for the first time since the break up. This kiss wasn't chaste at all. It lasted for a while, considering that it was one of the last time they'd ever kiss each other. She didn't want to let go because she knew she was leaving, but she didn't want to keep kissing him because each moment she kissed him, she wanted to stay, but she wasn't staying. Adrienne was leaving the next morning and there was nothing she could do about it but stay there and feel Stiles one last time before she would say goodbye forever.


	23. Unconditionally

Agent McCall's car was loaded with boxes filled with things that Adrienne had bought and owned since she moved to Beacon Hills. There were her posters, her hair care products, her makeup, her clothes, and her jewelry. It all managed to fit in about 3 boxes and 1 suitcase which fit into the trunk of the car perfectly. Adrienne came out with her suitcase, her eyes squinting with the blinding sunlight. Melissa, Isaac, and Scott stood on the porch, Scott with his arm around his mother as they tried not to cry.

"That's it," Agent McCall said, closing up the trunk, "That's everything."

"Okay," Adrienne nodded.

"Hey," Agent McCall said sweetly, "I know this probably isn't what you wanted, but Rex is going to be there for you. You're gonna go to school in Arizona and make all new friends, I promise."

Not ones like these, Adrienne thought.

Agent McCall started to head towards the car door when suddenly, a car came speeding down the street and parked right in front of the McCall house. Out of it came Lydia, Malia, and Kira, all screaming..

"We made it!" Lydia cheered.

"I told you I could get us here in time," Malia said proudly.

“You also went 300 times the speed limit,” Kira gasped.

"You guys came!" Adrienne smiled.

"We couldn't let you go without saying goodbye," Lydia said.

"And we also wanted to thank you," Malia added, "for saving all of us."

"Oh please," Adrienne shook her head, "If anything, you guys saved me."

Adrienne opened her arms and hugged Malia tightly.

Lydia came forward and Adrienne swore she almost felt a tear run down her eyes.

"No tears," Lydia demanded.

"I can't help it," Adrienne breathed, running into her best friend's embrace, "If it weren't for you, I'd still be that shy girl with nothing to say. You're most definitely one of the reasons I felt so at home here."

"I love you," Lydia said, rubbing Adrienne's back.

"I love you too," Adrienne responded, then looked to the porch where Scott, Isaac, and Melissa were.

The four girls approached the porch and Isaac was the first to step forward.

"Behave yourself," was all Adrienne said before hugging Isaac. He laughed at her, then winked at Malia before letting go and standing by her side.

"Don't I always?" Isaac chuckled.

Melissa stood in front of Scott. Adrienne looked at her one last time. She was shorter than Adrienne, but she looked so much like her. How was she supposed to pack up everything and leave when there was such a clear piece of evidence that Adrienne belonged with her mother? Just when she was starting to get used to living with a mother in her life, she was taken away from her. Melissa placed her hands on either side of her daughter's face, and that's when Adrienne's tears started to fall down her face.

"Mom..." Adrienne sobbed.

"I know," Melissa nodded and grabbed her daughter for a hug, both of them closing their eyes and holding on for as long as possible.

When Melissa let go, she rubbed Adrienne's arms and presented to Scott, which was when the tears came down faster from Adrienne's eyes.

"Hey..." Scott said quietly, wiping one of her tears away, then pulling her into a giant bear hug so her face was right next to his heart. That was the heartbeat that lead her to Beacon Hills in the first place. It was the first heartbeat that she had heard when she was in the lake looking for her father.

"Scott," Adrienne said into his shoulder, "Don't let him take me..."

"We'll all be together again," he assured her, "I swear to it."

"You're a little liar," Adrienne chuckled, "You always tell people what they want to hear."

Scott shrugged, "It's a curse."

She laughed through her tears and back away looking at him one last time before stepping off the porch and walking towards the car.

One more car drove up. A light blue jeep pulled up behind Malia's car and the mere sight of it made Adrienne's heart jump. She knew for a fact he wouldn't just forget to say goodbye to her.

Stiles stumbled out of the car and rushed towards her.

"Adrienne..." he panted, "I just... I just came to say-."

"I know," she said with a grin.

Stiles leaned forward, his lips puckering up, but she dodged it and hugged him gently, standing up on her toes to pull him down to her.

"I release you," she whispered into his ear, then backed up.

She watched his face as she walked towards. He was heartbroken to be watching her walk away from him, but she couldn't just stand there and give him false hope that she would come back and they could be together forever. Life didn't work that way.

Adrienne got one last look of her home and her friends and family standing on the porch, watching her hold onto the car door, but not exactly getting inside the car. She looked back at Stiles who still didn't move.

"Adrienne," Agent McCall said sharply, "Let's go."

She nodded and got into the car, closing the door behind her. The hum of the engine started and her eyes didn't leave Stiles's as the car pulled away. Everyone started waving and Stiles followed after them, waving slowly as he watched the wind push her hair into her face. The car got smaller and smaller into the distance and everyone stopped waving once they were sure she couldn't see anymore, but Stiles still held his hand in the air, looking after her.

"Believe me," Agent McCall said, "You'll have a better life now that you've had these experiences."

Adrienne looked out of the window and saw the blur of the green in the woods. She remembered standing in the mall, trying on leather jackets as the girl mimicked horny teenaged boys. She remembered Scott and Isaac playing keep away with Adrienne's phone when Will texted her. She remembered picking blueberries with Isaac and helping Melissa with the pancakes, seeing the batter on Isaac's face unbeknownst to him. She remembered gossiping about the boys at the girls table, watching the boys in their heavily confused state as they wondered what on earth the girls could be saying. She remembered the party Will took her too and the crazy night life that existed in the town. It was time to put all of these memories to bed.

Weeks later, Adrienne had one bed with scratchy sheets with bland white painted walls and no father around for miles. Rex would push in a tray with rough steak and cheap potatoes as a way to make her feel loved in his house. Most of the time it was empty during the summer. Agent McCall moved Rex to a house near the only woods in Arizona, that way she would feel more at home, like it was Beacon Hills.

Adrienne looked out of the window and saw the woods surrounding her, the tall trees that secluded her view of the rest of the world. It reminded her of a better time. She saw herself jumping into the water at the cabin, followed by Stiles. She saw them swimming near each other, pulling each other in with their foreheads touching. She saw the first time they kissed on the pier and her frightened expression. She saw herself on the countertop in the kitchen as the pancakes burned. That memory made her laugh. She saw herself sitting on his lap, making funny faces at each other. She saw them in the shower, making love to one another. She saw them in bed, wrapped in each other's arms and completely consumed by one another. Adrienne hadn't thought of those memories since she left the woods.

One evening, Adrienne came into the living room of Rex's house. She was going to ask where her dad was, but then saw him sitting there watching TV with him.

"Hi sweetheart," Agent McCall said.

"Dad," Adrienne sighed, "You're here."

"Yeah," he nodded, "What do you need?"

"Umm.." she took a deep breath, "I wanna go back."

Agent McCall adjusted himself in his seat and looked at her with shock, "What?"

"I wanna go back to Beacon Hills."

"Adrienne, it's a trigger to your more dangerous emotions. Why would you want to go back?"

"Malia, Lydia, Kira, Isaac, Scott, Mom, and Stiles," there was silence, so she kept going, "I ran away from this place so I could go somewhere where I felt safe and protected. Silly me thought it was anywhere you were. It was after I realized that Scott and Mom were my family that I finally realized where I was meant to be. I was meant to be in Beacon Hills. I've never had friends here. Who are we kidding? I'm not gonna get along with anyone here because they don't know me. Those people know me, and believe it or not, they love me too. I wouldn't have fallen in love anywhere else. I fell in love in Beacon Hills. I had a family. I had best friends. In Beacon Hills, I was strong. You weren't there to see me defeat the town's greatest threat. You wouldn't have known how strong I can really be. I was perfect. You weren't even at the prom send off to see how perfect I was in that town. Now you've brought me here and ruined me. How dare you rip me away from the first place where I've actually found a home simply because you weren't the center of attention in it... so what I'm really trying to say is..." she mustered up all of her courage, "Take me home. NOW."

He looked at her funny for a moment, then read the seriousness in her voice and in her face. Adrienne doubted her argument would have done her any good.

Scott and Stiles were sitting in the living room of the McCall house, tossing a small rubber ball between them, the TV dead and both of their phones silent beside them. Things had been awfully boring during the summer time in Beacon Hills. Nobody wanted to drive down to the shore. Nobody wanted to go for a swim in the pool, especially Scott's pack. Everyone was too afraid to go for a swim after what happened. The couples kept each other company every once in awhile, but that would only last for so long.

"So what do you want to do today?" Scott asked, throwing the ball to Stiles.

"I don't know, man," he said, throwing the ball back, "We used to be so fun. Who even made the plans to go places-."

Scott pressed his lips together and raised his eyebrows.

"Oh... right..." Stiles sighed and continued to push the ball, "Where's Isaac?"

"Asleep I think," Scott shrugged, "He's been there for a while."

"You wanna dump cold water on him?" Stiles asked.

The two boys paused and thought of how stupid it would be. However, because they had no lives, that was going to be the most interesting part of their day.

"I'll get the bucket," Scott said, getting up off his knees.

When he turned around and looked out the window, he saw a car pulling up. He tried to hone in his hearing so he could figure out who was inside. When he heard, he stepped back.

"Uh... Stiles?" Scott said.

"Yeah, let's put ice in it," Stiles answered.

"No, man..." Scott said, scrambling Stiles to his feet and pointing out the window.

From the window, they could see Agent McCall's car pulling up in front. He was pulling suitcases and boxes out of the trunk. They had sworn they JUST saw the same image happening backwards, but shook their heads and realized it had been a month and a half. Stiles looked at Scott and Scott gave him an approving nod. Stiles patted his back and rushed outside, standing in front of the steps to the porch.

The door to the passenger side closed and a pair of sneakers walked past the side of the car and grabbed a suitcase. The trunk door closed and revealed Adrienne standing there with her hand firmly grasped on her suitcase. The two of them stood there, not saying a single word, and simply staring at each other. Agent McCall went inside the house. When the door closed, Stiles finally spoke.

"What are you doing here?"

Adrienne smiled, "Why would I stay in Arizona if my heart is in Beacon Hills?"

"I don't know," Stiles said with a shrug, "Maybe because this town is kind of a beacon for supernatural creatures. You are, in fact, a supernatural creature, not to say 'creature' like it's kind of a bad thing. Unless, of course, you don't mind the word creature. If so, never mind. I'm going to go back to my previous statement that you, being a supernatural creature, are, therefore, drawn to Beacon Hills-."

Adrienne dropped her suitcase, running from the car to where Stiles was standing as he continued to ramble. He didn't shut up until she ran into his arms. It was like breathing oxygen for the first time after being deprived of it for so long. Like water in a desert or a blind man seeing for the first time. With her arms wrapped around Stiles and his arms around her waist, they clenched each other's clothes, feeling the relief of being in each other's arms again. The boxes were crowded around the car, which meant she was staying. This was permanent. Stiles didn't want to be released and he didn't have to be. What he wanted was in his arms once again.

The two of them looked at each other and didn't hesitate to kiss. Melissa watched from the window and Isaac and Scott joined her, Isaac drenched in cold water with an angry expression on his face before he saw Adrienne kissing Stiles outside. They wanted to judge, they wanted to embarrass them, but there was going to be plenty of time for that later. Adrienne was home in the arms of her boyfriend on the lawn of her permanent home, as her family watched her with smiles on their faces.

Adrienne Calliope McCall finally had a home.


End file.
